Rubies And Emeralds
by cooper-jones
Summary: Seventh year was meant to be The Year for Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy. They were the Heads of Hogwarts, had perfect scores, were top of their class and didn't intend to get along. Little did they expect to actually get along and go further than family history would have permitted them to.
1. Introduction

Rose Weasley stood in the living room of her house, trying to tell her mother that it was alright and that she didn't need to polish the badge anymore and that it was straight and reassuring her that she would take it off before she pulled on her robes so that it showed when she got off the Hogwarts Express. It was the Head Girl badge. And Hermione was probably fussing over it more than she herself was. Hermione would repeatedly polish it and straighten it (in spite of it being straight already) and then polish it again and then straighten it again. It was like an endless cycle.

"Mum, it's fine now. Mum, really." Rose said, for the millionth time.

"Hermione, if you polish it anymore, the words Head Girl aren't going to be there anymore. Then Rosie will just be a girl with an empty badge pinned to her robes." Ron said, coming into the living room with Hugo following. Hermione looked embarrassed and stopped. She turned to Hugo and said, "You need to take care of your sister OK? She mustn't lose her badge or any other part of her things while she's there."

"Yes mum." Hugo said, sighing. He was slightly taller than Rose but not as tall as his father. Rose was as tall as her mother now.

"Will James be at the platform?" Rose asked, looking at her mother. James had passed out a year ago and was now working at his uncle George's shop: Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. He was planning to work there until he landed a solid job elsewhere. Of course, being the famous Harry Potter's child did help you a great deal but James wanted someone to take him for him and not for his dad. While Harry admired him for it, Ginny suspected that it was because James couldn't be bothered to go look for another job when his job at the joke shop was paying fine.

"Yes, I expect he will. Ginny told me that he would be there." Ron said before Hermione could answer. Rose smiled. Hermione said, "It's a pity Albus didn't become Head Boy. You two would have made a good team."

"Yes Hermione. They would have made a team and called themselves Hermione Granger." Ron said and Hugo laughed.

"Be quiet, Ronald. I made a great Head Girl. Also, at least I completed my NEWTS. You chickened out and didn't do even that."

"Hermione! Don't ruin my paternal figure!" Ron said, taking the car keys off the mantelpiece, "At least I took a driver's license test and passed."

"You Confunded the driver."

"Minor details." Ron said, waving his hand as if shooing something off. Rose and Hugo laughed and Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head. Then they left, shoving their trunks into the back of the car and getting in. Ron drove the car to the station and parked it outside, going inside to go to the platform.

Scorpius lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, drowned in boredom. To be honest, he was dreading his return to Hogwarts. The only friend he had there was Charles Zabini, son of Blaise Zabini, the only person his father had bothered to keep in touch with. Sure, his father had other friends but they were just his friends because of his wealth. Honestly, he couldn't see why everyone thought his father was a bad person. His mother had explained it to him when his father wasn't around but he still didn't see it. His father didn't have a choice. His family's lives were at stake. Nobody seemed to understand how guilty his father felt or how upset he often got when there was news of a dark wizard being caught by Aurors. He would think that it could be him on the front page of _The Daily Prophet_ (even though he wasn't a dark wizard) and get upset. Scorpius was thinking about all of this when his father knocked on his door. He propped himself up on his elbows and gave Draco a smile, "Morning."

"Hey, Scor. So, are you excited?"

"About what? Going back or being Head Boy? Because I am not particularly excited about either." He said truthfully.

"Both. I suppose. Well you should be. It's your last year. And what if the Head Girl is unbelievably attractive?"

"Who's unbelievably attractive?" Scorpius' mother, Astoria asked, appearing at the door.

"Nobody.", "The Head Girl." Draco and Scorpius replied at the same time, Draco saying the former and Scorpius saying the latter. Rebecca laughed and said, "I suppose that was part of your father's motivating speech to get you excited about going back to Hogwarts."

"Well it excited me when I met you." Draco said, holding Astoria's hand. Scorpius groaned and said, "Not in front of me!"

"Sorry sweetheart." Astoria said, dropping her hand and grinning at Draco. Draco said, "We should get going if we want to get there on time. The train's going to leave without us otherwise."

"I wouldn't mind." Scorpius muttered, hoping neither of his parents would hear. Both of them did. Astoria smiled and put a hand on his shoulder while Draco ruffled his hair. Scorpius was as tall as Draco was now. He sighed and wondered who the new Head Girl was and if she was, in fact, unbelievably attractive. With these thoughts, he got into the car and left for Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

 **x**

 **This will have incredibly long chapters (since I've copy pasted a lot of it from the same story I have on a different website) but I hope you still read it and enjoy it! :)**


	2. Patrol Duty

Rose appeared on the platform, grinning and searching the crowd for her aunt's flaming red hair. Finding it, she headed over towards them with Hugo following closely behind. She called out, "Hey!" And everyone exchanged their greetings and hugged. Then James said, "Hey Rosie, do you know who the Head Boy? I am personally glad that it isn't Albus. He's too much of a goody-two shoes anyway." Rose rolled her eyes and said, "No, I don't know who the Head Boy is."

"I can bet ten galleons that it's that Malfoy kid: Scorpius." James said, winking.

"What do you know, James?" Rose said, tiredly.

"Nothing! I just happened to walk by the Malfoy family and my gaze just happened to fall on the Head Boy badge! Honest!"

"I suppose you also just happened to stop and ask him whether he had Confunded McGonagall." Albus said, joining into the conversation. Rose let out a laugh and James glared at his brother. "What?!" Albus said, innocently. Albus Potter wasn't actually the huge goody-two shoe everyone saw him as. He did get drunk on Firewhisky once ( _once_ ) and took off his top and his jeans (thankfully leaving his underwear on) and turned on the radio and danced to one of the songs by The Weird Sisters. Rose had found it hilarious. But he made her swear not to tell anyone.

"Al you promised!"

"But is it true? Is Scorpius _really_ the Head Boy?" Fred II asked, looking at James curiously. He was also in his seventh year. Lily Potter was in her fifth year. So were Roxanne and Lucy. The Scamander twins were in Rose's year, though. Although they were both in Ravenclaw. The others were in Gryffindor. The Weasley tradition continued of everyone being in Gryffindor.

"Yes he is, young wizard. I speak the truth. Ugh, Rosie, you'll have to spend your time in a separate common room with Scorpius. You poor soul." James said, putting a hand over his heart. Then he said, "But if that little prick gives you any trouble, you write to me and tell me, OK, Rose? I'll come there with Teddy and make him sorry for even _thinking_ that he could mess with you!"

"I think I can handle myself just fine, James." Rose said, flushing a little at his protective older brother act.

"On the other hand, if you fall in love with him-" Lily began.

"Our Rosie? Falling for Scorpius Malfoy? Don't be ridiculous, Lily." Hugo said, rolling his eyes at Lily, who rolled her eyes right back at him.

"It could happen." Alice Longbottom II piped in and Fred rolled his eyes at her in response. There was a lot of eye-rolling and Rose just stood there, wondering whether Scorpius Malfoy's appearance had changed over the summer. Just then, the train whistle blew and the wizards and witches, excluding James, all got onto the Express.

Scorpius stepped onto the platform, Draco and Rebecca right behind him. He nearly ran into someone but they didn't even notice. He recognized the flaming red hair: it belonged to Rose Weasley. She didn't even turn around and look at him. He hadn't expected her to. He was engrossed in his own thoughts when he heard someone call his name: Charles Zabini. He smiled at Charles warmly and said, "Charles."

"Hey Scorpius." Scorpius could hear the cool, clipped voice of their parents exchanging news in the background. Then he turned to Charles and said, "Do you know who the Head Girl is?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. It's none other than Rose Weasley." He said, pointing in the general direction of all the redheads on the station. Scorpius blanched and stared at him, his eyes wide and pupils dilated.

"Why does it have to be _her_?!" Scorpius said. Rebecca heard this and pulled her attention away from the Zabinis, "What is it, Scorpius? Did you find out who the Head Girl is?"

"Yes mother. It's Rose Weasley." Scorpius said. Of all the people who could have been chosen as the Head Girl, it had to be Rose Weasley. He perfectly understood why though. She was top of the class. She had received all Outstandings in her OWLS and her hand was forever up during class. Scorpius, on the other hand, had received one Exceeds Expectations and Outstanding in the rest which brought him down just below her. He had received Exceeds Expectations only in Divination. He figured that that was why he was made Head Boy.

"A Weasley? A Head Girl?" Draco said, with a slight sneer in his tone. Old prejudices between the Malfoys and the Weasleys hadn't been completely put out just yet. Scorpius rolled his eyes at his father's tone. He didn't like Rose Weasley- or any Weasley- but he didn't speak of them the way his father did. First of all, he couldn't, unless he wanted to be killed for speaking against one of the "Saving Families" and second, he just didn't feel any dislike towards the family.

"Yes father. She is top of the class, after all. I wouldn't expect McGonagall to make anyone else the Head Girl." His father's face dropped a little at this and before anything more could be said, the train whistle sounded. Scorpius and Charles said goodbye to their families and Rebecca embarrassed Scorpius by planting a not-so-subtle kiss on his cheek. He complained very loudly but didn't rub his cheek. They got onto the Express just before it started to move and Charles led them to an empty compartment. They sat down there and waved to their parents quickly. Once the platform was out of sight, Scorpius opened his mouth to say something to Charles but they were interrupted by the door of their compartment sliding open to reveal Rose standing there. She was already in her school robes, her Head Girl badge proudly pinned to the front and she looked annoyed.

"We need to patrol the corridors. Make sure none of the students begin hexing each other in the train. Especially the underage wizards. Meet me outside in a few minutes." She slid the door close and leaned against the strip of wall beside it, letting out a sigh. She had rehearsed saying that so many times in her head, it sounded foreign to her. Thankfully it didn't sound foreign to him but she didn't think she would ever be able to look him in the eye and talk to him. He was _way_ too attractive for his own good. Little did she know that Scorpius thought the same way about her. Inside the compartment, his jaw was hanging and he looked at Charles and said, in a hushed tone, "Is that Rose Weasley?"

"Yes. She is. She also happens to be the Head Girl."

"She's _really_ good looking now! Last year she had so many pimples. Now she looks... _gorgeous!_ "

"Don't tell me you're developing a crush on a Weasley, Scorpius." Charles said, leaning back. Scorpius rolled his eyes and said, "Definitely not. I'm just surprised that she has gotten... for lack of a better word, hot."

" _Right_ OK then, Head Boy. You should probably go fulfill your duties with your... erm... partner." Charles said, clearly fighting back laughter. Scorpius rolled his eyes and stood up to leave the compartment. He exited the compartment and found Rose standing next to the door. He hoped she hadn't heard anything he had said about her. She obviously hadn't because she looked at him, seemingly studying him, for a few moments before she said, "We should go in opposite directions. We'll meet back here in an hour or so."

"You know, Weasley, I honestly think it's better if we go together." He said, before he could stop himself.

"Why Malfoy? Don't think a witch who has gotten Outstandings in all her OWLS can handle herself alone?"

"No, I just don't think a witch can handle it if five wizards and witches turn on her because she tries to break up a fight that's taking place."

"I'm touched by your concern, Malfoy." Rose said, rolling her eyes at his explanation. But secretly she agreed that she would rather leave in one piece. "Come on then." She said and started down the corridor. Scorpius followed. They reached the end and met with nothing when they heard someone shout Petrificus Totalus behind them and then a thud of a body falling. They followed the sound and saw that it was a fourth year and another fourth year. Gryffindor and Slytherin. Rose took a deep breath, calming herself. Then she turned and glared at the second year Gryffindor (who was still standing) and said, "What do you think you're doing?" The prefects, who were also on patrol duty, came there. The prefects stood at a distance when they realized that they were in the presence of the Head Girl and the Head Boy.

"She was being annoying." The fourth year Gryffindor said, her voice wavering slightly.

"And I suppose you thought it would be fun to shut her up using a Full Body-Bind Curse?" The fourth year looked around helplessly. A lot of people had peeped out of their compartments to see what was going on.

"Aren't you a Gryffindor?" The fourth year asked, when she realized that no one was actually planning to speak up.

"Yes I am."

"Then why are you taking the Slytherin's side?!" The fourth year still sounded more scared than enraged.

"Are you asking me to be biased because I'm a Gryffindor Head Girl?" Rose asked in a softer tone than she had used before. The fourth year sensed danger and said, "No, I'm not."

"You're lucky the school hasn't started. I can take points away. And you're also lucky that I don't have the power to hand out detentions. Don't you dare hex another student and expect me to be biased because I'm a Gryffindor." Rose said and turned around and reversed the spell on the Slytherin fourth year. She sat up, looking dazed for a second and then stood up with a little help from Scorpius. The fourth year Gryffindor nodded and retreated into her compartment, muttering under her breath.

"As for you all. Just because Malfoy and I have patrol duty doesn't mean that you don't have yours." She turned her attention to the prefects. They nodded and the Slytherin prefects went into the Slytherin fourth year's compartment. Scorpius watched this entire scene in awe. He could instantly see why McGonagall had chosen Rose Weasley. She (McGonagall) knew that she (Rose) wouldn't be in the least bit biased towards her own house. Scorpius realized that if he had been faced with a similar situation as Rose and it was Slytherin, he would have probably taken the situation lightly. He shuddered at the thought of what Weasley would have done to him if she ever found out about the taking lightly.

"Are you alright, Malfoy?" He zoomed back to the train when he heard Rose's voice.

"What?"

"You just shuddered for no apparent reason. Are you feeling alright? As you just witnessed, I can clearly handle patrol duty on my own." She said.

"Oh um nothing. I was just… thinking."

"Something important?" Rose had already started down the corridor and Scorpius hurried after her quickly.

"No. Nothing that would interest you."

"Go on, Scorpius. Speak your mind." Why was she walking so fast?! Had she heard something that he had missed?! He half walked, half jogged to keep up with her pace. Her hair was red and bushy and bounced on her back when she walked. Then he suddenly stopped short. He realized that she had just referred to him by his name.

"Keep up, Malfoy. What's wrong?" She turned around to look at him and realized that he was staring at her.

"You called me Scorpius." He said.

"Did I?" She thought back and realized that she had. For a moment, she felt embarrassed and then calmed herself. She said, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was such a big deal. I'll refer to you as Malfoy and you can refer to me as Weasley, alright?"

"I didn't mean… nevermind. Alright, _Weasley_." Scorpius said, emphasizing the last word. She nodded and said, "Now, what was on your mind?" She had begun her ridiculously fast walking again.

"Well I was just thinking about the way you handled the situation back there."

"What of it?"

"I wouldn't have handled it that way." She stopped walking abruptly and Scorpius had to apply brakes on his pace so hard that he nearly fell over. But it was necessary to prevent collision.

"Are you saying I didn't handle it well?" He could hear the coolness in her tone.

"No! I'm saying you handled it much better than I ever could! I would probably mess it up! I would probably be biased." He added the last part in an undertone but Rose caught it. She was taken aback by the obvious compliment. From what she had heard, the Malfoys didn't easily compliment people. Unless it was each other.

"Is that a compliment, Malfoy?" She said, half expecting him to turn red and deny everything. She was taken aback when, instead, he said-

"I believe it is, Weasley."


	3. At Hoggy Warty Hogwarts

Rose scowled once she sat down on the seat opposite Albus. He looked at her, worriedly and said, "What's wrong, Rose?" She actually didn't know what was wrong. She didn't know why she felt so annoyed. She was the Head Girl of Hogwarts, the best place in the world. She had a lot of friends and the Head Boy wasn't acting like a complete ass to her.

"I don't know. I just feel… frustrated. Do you ever feel annoyed for no reason?"

"I know what you mean." Albus said, nodding, although he didn't understand at all. She saw right through his lie and smiled at him knowingly. He looked away, avoiding her gaze.

"So, how's the new Head Boy?" Albus said, changing the topic quickly.

"Surprisingly civil." Rose replied, leaning back.

"Really? I heard that you told off a Gryffindor fourth year. I think she cried after that." Although he sounded more like he was stating a fact, Rose felt a little guilty. She quickly shoved the thought away, knowing it had to be done. She knew that she wouldn't be a good Head Girl if it was any other way.

"It needed to be done." She said, simply. "Plus, Malfoy thought I did a good thing." The words were out before she could have held her tongue. Albus stared at her, wide-eyed. Then he said, "I wasn't criticizing you. Simply stating a fact."

"Oh." She looked out of the window.

"And if Malfoy said you were doing a good job then who am I to deny it?" He winked at her playfully and Rose rolled her eyes at him and said, "Shut up. Or I'll tell James about the Firewhisky."

"You wouldn't…"

"Oh yes I would." Rose said, grinning at him although she knew that she actually wouldn't. Albus rolled his eyes when he saw her grin widen and scowling, looked out of the window again while Rose busied herself by talking to Lily and the Scamander twins.

Scorpius sat down opposite Charles in his own compartment. Charles waggled his eyebrows at him and Scorpius rolled his eyes at Charles. Finally Charles said, "So… how did it go?"

"She is literally the definition of a perfect Head Girl. It's so annoying!" Scorpius said. On his way to his compartment, he had decided that he would pretend he was beyond irritated by the fact that not only was she the Head Girl, but also that she was probably the only non-biased Head Girl in the history of Hogwarts. Sure, he admired this trait but he thought it unnecessary to let Charles know about that.

"Is she now?" Charles said, picking at the dirt underneath his fingernails. But the smile playing along his lips made Scorpius roll his eyes.

"Go on, Charles. Speak your mind."

"My mind says that you _like_ her. Beyond the normal like. You're attracted to her."

"Really?" Scorpius drawled. "And what in the world would have you believe that?"

"It's clearly written all over your face, Scorpius." Charles said, stopping the picking for a moment to gesture towards Scorpius' face.

"It clearly isn't, Charles. You're obviously hallucinating again."

"Really? OK then. Petrificus Totalus!" Scorpius' eyes went wide and his body went rigid when Charles muttered the spell. Charles grabbed a muggle pen (where did he get that?!) and pounced onto Scorpius. Scorpius knew what he was going to write and tried to protest but couldn't. Once it was done, Charles waved his wand at Scorpius and the letters burned for a second, leaving a tingling feeling behind. Scorpius knew that Charles had obviously placed a spell on the words to make sure they stayed. Then Charles moved back and waved his wand again, "Finite Incantatum." Scorpius felt his body move again. Charles pulled out a mirror from his bag (why in the world does he have a mirror in his bag?! Scorpius wondered) and showed it to Scorpius. Across Scorpius' forehead was written:

I LOVE ROSE WEASLEY

Scorpius rolled his eyes at Charles, now really irritated. He said, "Real mature, Charles. Real mature. Now take it off before anyone sees it."

"Can't. Sorry. A little too busy laughing at you." Charles said, in between fits of laughter. Scorpius scowled, hoping it would go before the person written on his forehead saw it. But fate does have a funny way of working, doesn't it?

Rose stepped off the train, onto the Hogsmeade station platform and waited for Scorpius to get out too. He knew that he was supposed to come. She had told him before retreating into her compartment. And it wasn't as if he had a memory issue. Just as she thought this, Scorpius hopped out of the train, holding something around his head.

"Took you long enough. What's that around your head?" She asked, gesturing to the Slytherin-coloured scarf that Scorpius had wrapped around his forehead in an attempt to cover up the words written there. He had tried to make it work by tying it at the back or at the side like a bandana but it was too long and too lumpy to be done. So he had to continue holding it.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said.

"The scarf that's wrapped around your head. Stop pretending, Malfoy. You look ridiculous. Why are you wearing it?" Rose said, taking a few steps away from him, partly from embarrassment and partly because she didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea.

"Well… Charles Zabini, you know him, don't you? Yes, well he thought it would be… er… amusing, for lack of a better word, to write something on my forehead and then put a temporary sticking charm on it. And I need to cover it up because I have a reputation to uphold." He explained.

"And may I see what is written on your forehead?"

"No, you may not." Scorpius said, firmly. Rose resisted a giggle. Instead she resolved to saying, "I may be able to take it off or transfigure it to say something else, you know."

"It's a sticking charm!"

"I doubt it's as strong as a permanent sticking charm. Let me see." Scorpius opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, trying to form a valid argument. When he was finally defeated, he said, "Alright, but I'll only show you after all the students have gone." He gestured to the number of students getting off the train.

"They'll be gone soon." Rose said and she was right. Soon enough all the students had gotten into carriages. She looked at Scorpius expectantly once all the carriages had gone. There was one carriage still left which was supposed to take them. Albus had tried to wait for Rose but the crowd had carried him away.

"Fine." Scorpius said, dragging out the 'i' and then he unwrapped the scarf. Rose looked at it, reading it and Scorpius watched her reaction. At first she looked like she was about to laugh but then she got to her name and all traces of laughter were wiped from her face. Her eyes widened and a slight blush tinted her cheeks. She re-read her name several times before she said, "Oh no. Oh Merlin's beard no! This will not do! This will not do at all! Oh wait, I have an idea. Sorry Malfoy, I don't think I can remove it but I can change the letters to spell something else."

"What?" Scorpius knew that anything would probably be better than this.

"I can change it to spell I'm The King." She said. He nodded eagerly and she waved her wand, changing it to say:

SCORPIUS MALFOY THE KING

She nodded once it was done and he said, "Do you have a mirror?"

"What?! No! I don't carry mirrors around with me when I go to Hogwarts!"

"Alright! It was just a question!" Scorpius said. Then to himself, he said, "Plus, Charles had one." Rose, thankfully, didn't hear the last part and they got into the carriage and went to Hogwarts.

Charles' jaw dropped when Rose and Scorpius entered the Great Hall. Not because they entered together, obviously. It was more because what he had written had been transfigured. Scorpius smirked at Charles' expression and went to the Slytherin table while Rose went to the Gryffindor table. Rose sat down and began an animated conversation with Lily about her fifth year. How her OWLs were not going to be all that hard if she worked hard the whole year. Fred II was telling her otherwise. He kept telling her that she was going to fail and Rose told him off for saying so. Albus told Lily not to worry (which only made her worry more). Even Roxanne was consoling Lily about the OWLs even though her OWLs were in the same year. Alice II was consoling Lily too. Scorpius watched all of this in silence and only went back to reality when Charles called his name, "Scorpius!"

"Yeah?"

"Are you watching Rose Weasley?" Charles asked, loud enough for half the Slytherin table to hear. The table fell silent and watched Scorpius. He felt flustered under all their stares.

"No I was not!" Scorpius said, looking Charles in the eye. Charles searched his face for signs of lies and when he found none, he sighed and leaned back, defeated. Scorpius smirked and went back to eating. Once dinner was done, Professor McGonagall stood up (she was now the headmistress) and announced the rules. None of the corridors were off-bounds but the Astronomy Tower was to be closed when it was not in use. The Forbidden Forest was out of bounds unless you were accompanied by a seventh year or a teacher. Finally she announced the names of the new Head Boy and Girl and then asked the prefects to escort the students back to their common rooms while she had a word with the Head Girl and Boy. Once the hall had cleared and only McGonagall and the teachers remained, McGonagall said, "Please, have a seat." She conjured two chairs out of thin air and Rose and Scorpius sat down. Rose was fidgeting with the hem of her robes while Scorpius had balled his fists into his lap tightly, clenching and unclenching continuously out of nervousness.

"You may relax. I just need to inform you of your duties and then you may leave." Professor McGonagall said, "As you must know, you will share a common room while living in different dorms, of course. I will escort you to your common room as soon as this discussion is over. As Head Boy and Head Girl, you will need to assist the professors in any way possible in maintaining decorum within the walls of this school. You have the power to take away points but not the power to hand out detentions. That powers rests with the professors alone. If your assistance is required for any job, no matter how small, I expect you to provide the assistance. Even if it's simply getting a student out of a broom cupboard because they cannot remember the Alohomora spell. I hope you will give these duties as much of a priority as you give for the studying for your NEWT examinations." She looked at them and Scorpius was about to respond when Rose did so for both of them.

"We will not let you down, professor." She said, sincerely. Professor McGonagall smiled at this sincerity and nodded, moving to the door to lead the way to their common room. On the way, Scorpius could hear Rose furiously muttering the various directions they could take to reach their common room. He didn't know how she knew so many directions but didn't ask. Once they arrived at their common room, Professor McGonagall smiled at the large portrait of Albus Dumbledore hanging at the entrance of the room. He smiled back and said, "Hello Minerva."

"Albus."

"I suppose these are the new Head Boy and Head Girl." He nodded towards Rose and Scorpius. Rose blushed furiously at being addressed by Albus Dumbledore himself while Scorpius just stared at the ground, a slight blush tinting his cheeks too.

"They are. Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy."

"Hello." Dumbledore said, smiling pleasantly at the two students, unfazed by the fact that they were too busy blushing to notice that he was speaking.

"Not very talkative, I see. Well, they must be tired, I suppose. The password, Minerva, is Gillyweed." Rose's attention snapped up and she caught Albus Dumbledore's eye as he shared a smile and a memory with her. Both regarding Harry's second task during the TriWizard Tournament.

"Thank you, Albus. Gillyweed."

"Not a problem." He said, sliding aside (unlike in the Gryffindor common room where the portrait swung aside) to reveal a door. McGonagall opened the door and led the two Heads of Hogwarts in. They barely had time to marvel at the common room before they were pushed off to bed by Professor McGonagall. Rose entered her room and the only thing that registered was the presence of a bed. She fell onto it, exhausted from the long train ride, and went to sleep immediately, still in her school robes. Scorpius just managed to pull on a pair of pajama bottoms in his own room before he fell asleep too.


	4. Cupboards and Plans

It had been nearly a week since everyone had been back at Hogwarts. Rose woke up and the first thing she saw was Lily's nose. She screamed and fell off the bed. The minute the scream and the falling happened, the door to her room flew open and there stood Scorpius in a pair of pajama bottoms and topless, holding out his wand. Rose stared at his body. It was not the definition of perfect. But it was pretty close. Someone cleared their throat and she came back to reality, looking up and catching Scorpius' eye. He raised an eyebrow at her. Lily said, "Malfoy. What an… unexpected surprise."

"I thought I heard a scream."

"You did. That was me. Sorry to wake you. Lily's face was a little to close for comfort." The minute Rose said those words, she realized what they could have meant and mentally kicked herself. Scorpius raised an eyebrow again and Lily said, "I wanted to scare her awake. So I stood with my face really close to hers and she got scared and fell off the bed." Scorpius' lips had twitched up into a smile and his eyes shone with amusement when Lily told him that. Rose knew that he was doing everything he could not to burst out laughing. She scowled at him and said, "How did you even get in, Malfoy. I didn't think that boys were allowed into the dorms for girls."

"Just because nobody tried doesn't mean it isn't possible." Scorpius said.

"Actually," Lily said, "that's not true. My father and Uncle Ron tried to get into the girl dorms to meet Aunt Hermione. They didn't succeed."

"Really, Potter. What _hasn't_ your father done or tried to do?" Scorpius said, looking at her, dumbfounded.

"Don't answer him, Lily. Malfoy, get out." Rose said when Lily opened her mouth to answer. Scorpius nodded and left. Lily turned to her the minute the door closed behind him and said, "He likes you."

"No he doesn't."

"It's obvious. He practically _ran_ into the room to save you: his damsel of distress!"

"First of all, it's damsel _in_ distress. And second of all, he ran in here to see what the hell had happened. I don't remember him actually picking me up and putting me back on my bed after he saw that I had fallen off the bed. He stood there and laughed at me."

"To be fair he only laughed at you in his head." Lily pointed out and Rose rolled her eyes. She said, "Either way, he was here purely for some entertainment. I think he got that and I'm not particularly happy about it. But I don't care."

"So you don't find him attractive?"

"There's a difference between finding someone attractive and actually liking them. Plus, he's Scorpius Malfoy. He's a class-A git and not someone I want to be acquainted with. He's too good-looking for his own good and half the girls in Hogwarts want him to get into bed with them."

"Well can you blame them? With a body like that-"

"You know Albus will personally kill you if he hears you saying something like that about Malfoy, don't you?" Rose said and Lily blushed faintly.

"What Al doesn't know won't kill him." Lily said and then waited for Rose to get ready so that they could go downstairs for breakfast together. Soon enough, they were on their way to the Great Hall. When they entered, Rose found herself searching the Slytherin table for Scorpius. She found him and caught his eye. Immediately she looked away and concentrated on what Lily was saying. Something about hippogriffs and their prejudices towards pure bloods.

They had made eye contact. Scorpius was sure of it. He had caught her looking at him. Was she looking for him? That doesn't matter. She had caught his eye. Did it mean something? No, it couldn't mean anything. Did it? Somewhere at the back of his mind, Scorpius was aware that Charles was talking to him. Suddenly Charles stopped talking. Had he asked him a question? Or did he finally realize that Scorpius wasn't listening? He hoped it was the latter.

"Scor?"

"Yeah?" He looked at him, quizzically.

"Did you hear _any_ of what I just said?"

"I heard the part about Dumbledore." Scorpius hoped that Charles had mentioned Dumbledore.

"I didn't say _anything_ about Dumbledore." Charles said through gritted teeth.

"Sorry."

"What were you thinking about anyway? Or was it a _who_?" Scorpius was glad that Charles had gone back to his playful mood. Of course, Charles' playful mood is defined in one word: teasing.

"I wasn't thinking about anything or anyone in particular. I was just… thinking."

"So a special someone- I don't know, maybe, _Rose Weasley_ \- wasn't invading your thoughts?" Charles waggled his eyebrows.

"No, Charles. She wasn't."

"But someone was?"

"What?! No! For Merlin's sake Charles! Stop with the pointless interrogation!"

"You're blushing."

"No I'm not."

"You are. Wait." Charles dug inside the pockets of his robes and resurfaced with a mirror in hand. Scorpius' jaw dropped. _How does he have a mirror in there?!_ he wondered. Charles rolled his eyes at Scorpius' expression and held up the mirror so that Scorpius could see his reflection. It was true. Scorpius had gone very faintly pink. _Very_ faintly. Just then, Scorpius realized that a first or second year (he couldn't figure out which one) had bent down and said something to Rose. She listened carefully and then nodded. She looked at the Slytherin table and their eyes met. She nodded at him and he gave her a curt nod too. Both of them stood up and headed towards the door. Once they were outside, Scorpius said, "What happened?"

"There are two fifth years locked inside a broom cupboard and are not able to open it on the fourth floor, fifth corridor."

" _Which_ fifth corridor?"

"Let's get to the fourth floor and find out." Rose said, running up the stairs, going to the nearest moving staircase which seemed to be moving. Scorpius followed her. Midway they got caught up because a moving staircase changed its mind about moving and moved back to its original position. Rose muttered profanities under her breath at this which made Scorpius raise his eyebrows. They finally reached the fourth floor and split up, running down the corridor on either side. Rose found the closet and pointing her wand, muttered, " _Alohomora_." Scorpius found her just before the doors sprung open to show a fifth year witch and wizard… snogging. The girl jumped away a second after the doors opened and went red in the face when she realized that she was being watched by the Head Boy and Head Girl. The wizard looked flustered and looked anywhere but at Rose's eyes. Scorpius smirked at how uncomfortable Rose seemed in this situation. So he took the situation and said, "We're very sorry to interrupt. We were told that there was a lot of… er… noise coming from this cupboard. We're going to leave now, right, Weasley?"

"Uh yeah." Rose said, finally finding her voice. The girl and boy looked beyond happy that no point were taken away.

"But you should get down to breakfast. The bacon is absolutely heavenly." Scorpius said and Rose looked away, pursing her lips inwards to prevent laughter. The girl let out a shaky laugh and the guy allowed a smile and they left. The minute they were out of earshot, Rose let out the laughter. Scorpius grinned, having just the amount of modesty _not_ to laugh at his own jokes.

"'The bacon is absolutely heavenly.'" Rose quoted and continued to laugh. Scorpius' grin widened and he said, "At least _I_ took care of the situation and didn't stand there looking awkward."

"Oh please, Malfoy! I could have handled the situation too. I was just taken a little by… surprise."

"Surprise indeed. But only a little? I beg to differ, Weasley. You were just standing there, staring. Or did you just enjoy the little show?"

"I did not!"

"Prove it!"

"How am I supposed to prove it! What's done is done."

"Then admit to being embarrassed."

"Scorpius Malfoy! I was _not_ embarrassed!"

"Sure." Scorpius said, elongating the 'u'. Rose just stuck her tongue out at him realizing that all argument was futile. He rolled his eyes at her immaturity and they went back to the Great Hall. Just before they entered, Rose said, "Thanks, Malfoy. I really was embarrassed. But if you tell anyone, I swear I will kill you." Then she pushed the doors and returned to the Gryffindor table. Scorpius grinned and returned to the Slytherin table with the same smile on his face.

"You _need_ to get into detention with him. Detention is where every guy shows his true colours." Lily told Rose as they made their way back to Rose's new common room after classes. Rose rolled her eyes at Lily's diagnosis and said, "How do you know?"

"Well, I found out that Lorcan fancied me only _after_ I had detention with him."

"Lorcan _fancies_ you?" Rose said, grinning.

"Yes and we've been dating for nearly a year now. Don't tell Albus."

"Why shouldn't I tell Albus? It's Lorcan. He's fine about Lorcan, isn't he?"

"Yeah he is. But he thinks that I should concentrate only on my OWLs this year and that romantic feelings should be set aside for the year. Also, he might say that Lorcan is too old for me. But anyway, back to you and Malfoy. You _need_ to get into detention with him. And I have the perfect plan." Rose groaned. She knew for a fact that Lily's plans were never the best. She was glad that they had finally reached the portrait of Albus Dumbledore. He spent most of his time in his old office, during classes but came back here for the evenings. He smiled at them in welcome and said, "Hello, Rose. Lily."

"Good evening." Rose greeted.

"Oh, before I forget and before you say the password, Lily, would you please tell your father that I am honoured he chose to name his son after me? I keep forgetting to ask you."

"Of course, Professor." Lily squeaked, going red with pleasure at being said something to by Albus Dumbledore himself. Rose was used to him after an entire week and smiled at him while saying, "Gillyweed."

"Indeed." He said and slid away, revealing the door. Rose said her 'thank you' and went into the room, pulling Lily behind her, who still looked stunned at being spoken to by Dumbledore himself. Once they entered the room, Lily's stunned state of mind wore off and she became herself. She was probably the only person who loved Rose's common room more than Rose herself loved it. She took the armchair by the fire and Rose took the armchair by the fire too. Then she said, "So, do you want to hear my plan?"

"If I say no, will you not tell me?"

"Nope."

"Fine, then. Go on."

"Actually, you know what? I won't tell you. My plan will have to remain secret. Otherwise, it may not be fulfilled."

"What may not be fulfilled?" Scorpius asked, appearing.

"Duties." Rose answered, after a brief hesitation. Scorpius didn't look convinced but nodded. Then he said, "Oh, Weasley, Potter-not this one- came looking for you. The one with messed up hair? He came looking for you and I think he's waiting in his common room for you."

"How do you know?"

"He has this annoying habit of saying more than necessary. He said, 'Tell her that I really need to talk to her and that I will be waiting in my common room for her. You see, I think Aunt Mione's unhappy because she hasn't received any letters from Rose or Hugo yet. So please tell her.' And I don't really care about the Aunt Mione part. But yeah, I think you need to write to your mom and meet your cousin."

"Thanks, Malfoy." Rose said, nodding slightly. She had this way of dismissing people by giving them a slight nod. Scorpius understood this and left.

"Now to put my marvelous plan into action!" Lily said, grinning at Rose and smiling, evilly. Rose just groaned.


	5. Not Everything Happens In Detention

Scorpius and Rose were in their common room. Both of them were pondering over an essay for Transfiguration. By this time into the school year, they had an unspoken agreement that they would do their homework together in the common room since they were receiving so much and so, if one of them had a head start, they could exchange essays. Although they hadn't exchanged essays even once so far. They hadn't even spoken to each other since they had caught the two fifth years snogging. Lily was still convinced that they liked each other while they were bent on not speaking to each other. Every time one of them were going to start a conversation, the other would leave the room. It was almost telepathic. And it was one of those nights during which both Head Girl and Boy were swamped with work and nearly drowning in parchment. Rose was having a particularly difficult time concentrating on her homework because her mind was on other things. Like the way Lily had been acting for the past two days. As a matter of fact, Lily, Fred, Hugo and Roxanne had all been acting the same way and nobody had told Albus anything because he was the biggest blab in Hogwarts and none of them had told Rose. But that evening, something different happened. It started with Roxanne bursting through the door, saying, _"Rose! The Astronomy Tower! Now!"_

"What happened?" Rose said, standing up immediately. Scorpius stood up too, although his presence was yet to be acknowledged by Roxanne.

"They're saying that someone's stuck up there. Magical invisible wall or something. You need to get there quick!" Rose nodded and followed Roxanne out of the door, glancing over at Dumbledore's portrait, which was empty. She hoped he would be back by the time she got back to her common room. Somewhere along the way, Roxanne morphed into Lily. Rose didn't notice when the transition had occurred but she assumed that following Lily was the right thing. She said, "I think I can find my way to the Astronomy Tower."

"I'm still helping you." Lily said and made three more turns. She had obviously taken some shortcuts because they were at the foot of the Astronomy Tower. Lily nodded at Rose. Rose started up the staircase, hoping desperately that there really was someone at the top because this tower was forbidden unless lessons took place. When Rose turned around, Lily wasn't there anymore. Her eyes widened. She realized that she could get detention for being out of bed at such an hour. Then she remembered what Lily had said about a boy's true nature coming out during detention. But she was too late. She could already hear footsteps.

Scorpius had somehow mixed up all the flaming red hair. He realized soon enough that he wasn't following Rose but that he was following Roxanne. They turned another corner and ran into Professor McGonagall. Professor McGonagall stumbled and while Scorpius caught her, Roxanne melted into the shadows and disappeared. It was then that he realized that this was a set-up. But why would someone-especially Gryffindors- set-up him and Rose Weasley.

"Mr. Malfoy! What do you think you're doing out of bed at this hour?!" Professor McGonagall looked outraged. Just then, Fred Weasley II appeared and said, "Professor! Rose! The Astronomy Tower!"

"Doesn't she know that it's forbidden! Honestly… with a Head Boy and Girl like this…" she trailed off and started down the corridor. Scorpius followed her with Fred following them at a slight distance. Scorpius had a feeling that he was going to disappear at some point of time.

And he was right.

By the time they had reached the Astronomy Tower, Fred was nowhere to be seen. But by that point, Professor McGonagall didn't care anymore because there was a loud noise from above. Professor McGonagall went up the stairs, Scorpius right behind her. Once they reached the top, they found Rose, standing there, wand out, tip lit. And the light of the wand was falling on the wall where there was a big black patch. It looked like a firework has burst over there (and Scorpius strongly suspected that it had). She looked like a deer in the headlights (something Scorpius had heard from the countless muggles around him) as she stared at Professor McGonagall with wide, scared eyes. If the situation hadn't been so dire, Scorpius might have felt a stronger urge to just hold her. There was a very slight urge right now. Professor McGonagall, on the other hand, felt no such urge. On the contrary, she was furious. She breathed heavily and said, "Head Girl and Head Boy. I thought you'd know better. Do you know what time it is?! It's past midnight! The office. Now." Professor McGonagall had taken over Dumbledore's old office as her 'office' but she still preferred her Gryffindor staff room to this office. The minute they entered Dumbledore's office, Scorpius and Rose were overcome with awe. They stared around the office, taking in as much as possible. Behind the desk was a huge portrait of Dumbledore. He was currently in it and wide awake, looking at them with amusement. Professor McGonagall paced before them, not bothering to sit down or offer them a seat. Rose stared at the ground, her face red with embarrassment. Scorpius did the same, although his gaze darted all over the room, looking at everything out of the corner of his eye.

"Such careless behaviour! I thought your houses meant more to you! You are so lucky that we aren't living in Potter's school time when the Dark Lord-" she was interrupted by Dumbledore.

"Surely you can say his name _now_ , Minerva." He said, his eyes twinkling.

"Not now, Albus. Oh alright. You are so lucky that we aren't living in Potter's school time when _Voldemort_ was still alive. The school isn't all that dangerous with him gone. But that doesn't make what you did tonight excusable. You are the Head Boy and the Head Girl of the school. You are supposed to set an example to the school. Not wander about in the middle of the night, up and down forbidden towers. And from my own house too! Twenty points from both houses and you shall both receive a combined detention this Tuesday. Report to my office at eight. Now go back to bed and if I see you out of bed again…" she trailed off again making this threat more severe than it would have been if she had simply finished the sentence. Rose and Scorpius nodded, leaving the room immediately and going back to their common room in silence. By the time they had reached the portrait, Dumbledore was back. He heard the password, slid aside and they went in, both of them muttering good nights to him out of respect and guilt. Without another word to each other, they went upstairs to bed, their Transfiguration essays lying on the table, forgotten.

 **-Tuesday-**

Ever since the night they had got detention, Rose had refused to speak to anyone except Albus, Lysander, Lorcan, Alice and Lucy. Roxanne, Hugo, Lily and Fred were being given the silent treatment. When Tuesday finally came, both Rose and Scorpius trudged down to Professor McGonagall's office in silence. Rose knocked on the door and they entered when Professor McGonagall said, "Come in." She looked up and nodded at them, tight-lipped. Then she said, "You shall be polishing trophies in the trophy room. Without magic, of course. Please leave your wands here and then you may go to the trophy room. Filch will be supervising." Rose and Scorpius shared a look of sadness and, placing their wands on McGonagall's desk, left the room.

"I can't believe he's still alive." Scorpius said, on their way to the trophy room. This was probably the first time one of them had initiated a conversation since they had caught the snogging fifth years.

"Who? Filch?"

"Yeah."

"Well he is a wizard."

"No. He's a Squib."

"Wizard who can't do magic. Same difference." She said, climbing up a staircase.

"And his stupid cat, Mrs. Norris." Scorpius said, making a face. It was a well-known fact that Mrs. Norris was the only thing in the entire school that was worse than Filch. Of course, this was Mrs. Norris II. But she was just as nosy as the first and she would still catch students 'committing crimes' and run off to get Filch. He would return with her a few minutes later. Rose had been told that everyone at Hogwarts had wanted to kick Mrs. Norris I and now everyone wanted to kick Mrs. Norris II. But now that Filch was older, he was slower so the student usually had enough time to clean up after themselves. Although Filch would still claim to have caught them in the act and, judging by who the student was, he would make up a crime which would land them in detention.

"I know." Said Rose, grudgingly. Just then, Filch loomed into view and he smiled a sickly sweet smile at the two seventh years. He said, "Well well well. What do we have here? Thought you'd go for a little midnight walk, did you? Well you got caught didn't you? Oh it feels so good not to clean the trophies. And because of Weasley's family and friends, there are so many more than last time. Potters, Weasleys, Longbottoms, Grangers, Lovegoods, everybody!" He looked so happy about this, it almost made Rose feel sorry for him. Nobody should be _this_ happy about not having to clean trophies for one night. Filch then led the way to the Trophy Room and motioned towards the many shelves on which trophies stood. He handed both Rose and Scorpius buckets of soapy water and washing cloths and told them to get started. And they did.

"This is _horrible_." Scorpius complained, within the first five minutes of cleaning a trophy.

"Cleaning trophies? Well we were out of bed after midnight." Rose said.

"So was the rest of your family!" Scorpius shot back and Rose went slightly red.

"I know." She said, in a small voice.

"Sorry." Scorpius said and Rose's eyes widened. From what she had heard, Malfoys never said the following words: thank you, sorry and please. Scorpius must have realized too because the silence in the room had now become uncomfortable. They continued to clean in the awkward silence when Scorpius broke it again, "Do you hate me?"

"What?!" Rose exclaimed, the trophy nearly slipping out of her grip.

"Do you hate me? Honestly, Weasley, I think it's a pretty straightforward question." It was but Rose didn't know how to answer. She felt like she was _supposed_ to hate him. No, not hate. That was too strong a work. She was supposed to intensely dislike him. But she felt neither emotions towards him. So she said, "No. Do you?"

"Do I hate me? Of course not. I have good looks and charm. I have no reason to hate myself." Scorpius said, smirking at her. Rose rolled her eyes and said, "No, Malfoy, do you hate me?"

"No." He said, simply. He didn't even think about it. Rose suddenly felt guilty for actually considering the thought of hating someone.

"Thanks." She said and went back to cleaning her trophy. A minute or two passed and Malfoy said, "Weasley?"

"Yes, Malfoy?"

"We're going to Hogsmeade this weekend," Rose started to blush slightly, the rest of the question forming in her head, "and I was just wondering if maybe- I don't know- you-" he was cut off by Filch coming into the room shouting, "I saw you use magic! I know you used magic, Weasley!"

"No I didn't! I swear!" Rose denied, turning out all her pockets to prove that there was no wand. The moment of intensity which had come with Scorpius' incomplete question was gone and there was only pressure.

"I'm watching you, Weasley. You too, Malfoy." Filch said with narrowed eyes, staring at the two of them, evidently content that Rose was in fact using her hands to clean and not her wand. Scorpius, on the other hand, was mentally kicking himself for almost asking Rose Weasley to go to Hogsmeade with him. She would have obviously said no. Not like he wanted her to say yes, anyway. He was now wondering what would have happened if she had said yes. His mind zoomed into an image of the two of them sitting at a table in The Three Broomsticks, drinking butterbeer and laughing. He shook his head slightly, clearing his mind. _Just because she doesn't hate you, doesn't mean she likes you_. A little voice in his head said. He agreed with the voice and went back to cleaning the trophies. Once Filch was out of earshot, though, Rose said, "Uh Malfoy?"

"Yeah?"

"What were you saying? Earlier. Before Filch came in." He had a feeling she already knew what he was going to ask her. He kept a passive face although he was worrying a lot inside. Should he lie? Should he go ahead and ask? What if she says no?

That's the plan, stupid.

But it would be nice if she said yes.

No, it wouldn't. You don't want that.

Scorpius agreed with the voice but wanted to know anyway. He opened his mouth to tell the truth and it was at the tip of his tongue. But then, a lie came out, "Nothing. It doesn't matter."

"Oh." Rose said, sounding and feeling a little disappointed. Why did she feel disappointed? She shook her head slightly, deciding that she would have probably said no. _Although it would have been nice of him to actually ask_. She thought to herself but went back to cleaning the trophies. Scorpius noticed her disappointment and felt slightly guilty about it.

 _It's alright. She would have said no anyway. Big deal._

"Shut up." He muttered to the voice, under his breath, and it did shut up.

Once they were done cleaning the trophies, they went back to the common room, tired, their arms sore and skin on the fingers wrinkled. They had got their wands, said the password to Dumbledore and collapsed on the armchairs; too lazy to climb the stairs. They stayed collapsed in silence for a few moments when Scorpius broke the silence again, "Do you hate my father?" Rose felt a tight knot in her chest when he said that. She didn't know how to respond to that. She had never actually met Draco Malfoy but the name was infamous back home. In her mother's stories, he was scared and didn't know any better (which Rose thought was a little pathetic) while in her father's stories, he was the ultimate villain who lived in a creepy mansion and watched as people died. She didn't know what to believe. She didn't hate him. She knew that. She was about to say so when she noticed Scorpius looking downcast. She must have hesitated too long. She bit her lip with guilt and said, "No, I don't." Scorpius became slightly stiff when she said this and looked up at her, as if searching her face for traces of sarcasm.

"I'm not being sarcastic, Malfoy." She said, rolling her eyes and breaking the ice a little.

"Thank you." Scorpius said and Rose's eyes widened. First a Sorry and now a Thank You. The only thing left was a Please.

"Why would you ask me something like that?"

"Well I assumed that you would. Please don't be offended. It's just that my father hasn't been exactly… er… _civil_ , to your parents." But all Rose could hear was the word Please. All three words in one night.

"Well I believe that he didn't have a choice about who he wanted to be." The words tumbled out before she could stop herself. She didn't know why she had said this but she felt like this was meeting both personalities of Draco Malfoy halfway. He was scared and a villain because he didn't have a choice. It seemed fitting. It was also partly because Scorpius had said Please.

"Then you understand." Scorpius said, so softly that Rose had to strain her ears to hear him. When she heard it, she smiled. She placed her hand, without thinking, on Scorpius'. He didn't look at her but he felt a slight blush. Rose noticed the blush and decided that he was okay. She took her hand off before he got any ideas and felt herself going a little red too. Then she cleared her throat and, standing up, said, "I think I'm going to go to bed."

"Yeah, me too." Scorpius said, standing up after she stood up. They just stared at each other, the silence between them incredibly awkward. A few moments passed and Scorpius said, "Well good night, then."

"Yeah. Good night." She said and went up the stairs while Scorpius went up his. Once she got to her bedroom, she lay down and sent a mental message to Lily:

 _Not everything happens in detention._


	6. First Names

Although neither Rose nor Scorpius would admit it, Lily's plan of bringing them closer together had worked marvelously. Although they never brought up the hands, they were much more outspoken with each other. They established ground rules which included only acknowledging each other's presence outside the common room. But inside the common room, it was completely normal for them to joke around and enjoy themselves. Of course, nobody, not even Charles and Lily were aware of this. And no matter what Rose said or what Scorpius said, they both knew that them being seen together as friends would be weird. Owing mostly to the generation-long feud between Gryffindor and Slytherin that not even the second Wizarding War could stop. They would also often swap homework assignments to double check. Although they often wrote almost exactly the same things it still felt nice to know that if they got a T (Troll), someone else would get a T with them. They were in the middle of each other's assignments on such a night when Scorpius said, "So, Weasley, what's your favourite subject?"

"Why are you trying to make conversation, Malfoy?"

"Because your Charms essay is beyond boring." He said, scanning over the parchment and then putting it down on the table. Rose snatched it back and handed him his essay and said, "Yours isn't exactly my ideal novel, either, Malfoy."

"If you don't like it, don't read it." Scorpius muttered, rolling up his parchment and putting it away. Rose let out a laugh and said, "In any case, my favourite subject is Transfiguration. What's yours?"

"Potions. Or the Defence Against the Dark Arts. I can't decide." He said. She smiled at him and then began proofreading her essay.

"What's your favourite colour?" Scorpius asked, attempting at conversation again. Rose put down her essay again and said, "Can I finish proofreading this and answer?"

"You're proofreading that for the seventh time, Weasley! I'm pretty sure it's perfectly alright." Scorpius said, rolling his eyes. This was another rule between them. The fact that they would only use last names and no first names because first names felt too personal.

"This is the _first_ time I'm proofreading it, Malfoy. I gave it to you to proofread and you decided it was too boring so I can't count on your judgement."

"Well can you really blame me if you're going to write so much about the amount of time it takes for a charm to wear off and all the reasons why it takes so long?"

"Well that's what the essay was about, wasn't it?" Rose said, indignantly.

"Don't you know how to have fun, Weasley." Scorpius groaned.

"Malfoy, your idea of fun is asking me what my favourite colour is. Forgive me if we don't see eye-to-eye on the definition of fun."

"Point taken. So, speaking of favourite colour, what is your favourite colour?"

"Why don't you guess?"

"Pink." Scorpius said, without thinking.

"That is so sexist and no." Rose said, rolling her eyes.

"Blue?"

"No."

"Orange."

"No."

"Yellow."

"Yes!"

"Really?!"

"No."

"Red?"

"Finally. Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes." She said, rolling her eyes at him. He smiled at her smugly and she laughed. Then she said, "What's yours?"

"I thought we had different definitions of fun."

"Well I never said this was a fun question. Why are you asking me these questions anyway?"

"Since we're… are we friends?" He asked. Rose put down her parchment. She knew this would come up sooner or later. The biggest question: Are we friends? Scorpius had been thinking about it too. Neither knew that the other had stayed up wondering whether they were simply acquainted or friends. They were obviously closer than before but were they ready to call themselves friends? And neither of them had an answer. So Rose decided to answer with a question:

"What do you think?"

"I think we're close."

"Do you?" Rose didn't expect him to answer this way. She thought he would say that they were somewhere between friends and acquaintances. Not that they were close to being friends.

"You don't?"

"I don't know." She admitted, looking down and turning slightly red. She should have agreed with him. She knew she should have.

"Well, now that I know your favourite colour and class and you know my favourite colour is green and you know my favourite class, I think we can officially update our relationship status."

"When you say it like that, it sounds like we're dating." Rose said, laughing and rolling up her parchment. She couldn't be bothered to finish proofreading it.

"We could start." Scorpius said and winked. Rose's eyes widened and he rolled his eyes at her expression, "I'm joking, Weasley. I am _not_ going to date _you_."

"What's wrong with me?!" Rose said, feeling slightly offended with the way he had stressed on 'you'.

"There's nothing wrong with you. I'm just saying. Why, Weasley? Do you _want_ me to date you?" He said, smirking at her.

"You're an ass." Rose said, unrolling her essay and deciding to finish reading it instead of talking to him. Talking about dating always made her feel awkward.

"You're not fooling anyone by pretending to read your essay." Scorpius said, rolling his eyes.

"I'm not pretending-"

"It's upside down, Weasley." Scorpius said and Rose went red when she realized he was telling the truth. Her essay was upside down. She turned it the right way and rolled it up again, deciding not to bother. Then she looked at him, expecting him to say something more. Now he felt awkard so he just stared at the floor silently. So Rose said, "So, Malfoy, have we updated our 'relationship status'?" She said, putting 'relationship status' in air quotes.

"I don't know, Weasley. Have we?"

"I think we have." She said, smiling He smiled back. A genuine smile. Not his usual smirk. It was a refreshing change. Rose then realized that she was staring and quickly looked away, feeling awkward again. Scorpius looked away awkwardly too and said, "Well then, Weasley, this was fun. But I'm going to call it a night. So good night, Weasley."

"You can call me Rose." The words tumbled out before she could process them. Rose's eyes widened for a second but then her face went back to passivity and she looked at him, waiting for a response. But her heart rate had increased and her palms were beginning to get clammy. She balled up her hands into fists and waited for a few agonizing moments. Then he said, "And you can call me Scorpius. Good night, Weas-Rose." The name felt foreign on Scorpius' tongue but he wasn't about to tell Rose that it did. Rose said, "Good night, Mal-Scorpius." The name felt foreign on Rose's tongue but she wasn't about to tell Scorpius that it did either.

Rose went downstairs the next morning to find Scorpius there, staring at the empty fireplace. It was cold in the common room and she hugged herself, rubbing her arms, walking towards him. He looked like he was thinking about something. Thinking really deeply about something. And she was more or less right. Scorpius had been thinking about how their conversation would go with their actual first names being used. Of course, all he had to do was substitute "Weasley" with "Rose" but that was easier said than done. Every time he thought of it, it sounded odd in his head and he had been wondering about whether they were ready to actually use the first names or not.

 _Get a grip on yourself, Scorpius. She'll probably go back to calling you "Malfoy" in the morning._ The little, annoying voice in Scorpius' head said to him. A part of Scorpius-a very minor part-was actually hoping that wouldn't be the case. He knew that Rose Weasley was a genuinely nice person. And that she didn't hate him or his family. And he didn't really mind that she wanted to use first names. But he was wondering whether she had decided that she had made a mistake.

"Morning, _Scorpius_." Rose said, her voice straining slightly on the word "Scorpius". She was obviously not used to saying his name. But nonetheless, he felt a small amount of relief that she hadn't said "Malfoy" instead.

"Morning, Rose." He said with a little more ease. She looked at him, one eyebrow perfectly raised at the ease with which he had said her name.

"How did you say it so easily?"

"Practise. I've been saying that to myself all night." He said truthfully. But he knew that if she asked the most obvious question-Really?!-next, he would deny it and roll his eyes at her.

"Really?"

"No. It just… happened." _No it didn't, Scorpius, and you know it_. Scorpius rolled his eyes at the voice but Rose thought he was doing it at her. She sighed and rubbed some sleep away from her eyes before going back to hugging herself. Then she said, "I'm going to get dressed."

"Yeah me too." Scorpius said. But he didn't get up to leave after she left and he was still sitting there when she returned. He suddenly realized that the Hogsmeade weekend was two days away. With his Head Boy duties and classes, he barely had time to concentrate on anything. The only time he saw Charles was during meal times now and even those were cut short because he needed to patrol the edge of the forest to prevent any first years from entering. Or any other years. _Of course, it doesn't matter if **I** die_. He often thought to himself as he paced along the edge, feeling very stupid.

"Earth to Scorpius." He came back to the common room when he heard Rose's voice. He looked at her, his eyebrows raised.

"Yeah?"

"Well I was just saying that we probably shouldn't use each other's first names outside the common room. It may attract some unwanted attention." Scorpius resisted the urge to snort. With Rose not only being a war hero and heroine's daughter but also being really pretty, she was attracting much more attention than she was obviously aware of.

"Yeah. I agree." Scorpius said, instead of snorting.

"Great. I'm going to go for breakfast now. Bye." She said and left without waiting for a response. Scorpius stared at the now closed door for a moment before quickly getting dressed and exiting the common room too. He nearly ran into someone on his way out-

"Rose! I'm sorry. I didn't see you." He said, catching her before she could fall.

"It's okay. I should be the one apologizing. I'm the one who was in a hurry." She said. There was a moment of silence and then Rose cleared her throat and pointedly looked at Scorpius's arm which was still around her upper arm, holding her. He quickly let go, looking and feeling incredibly awkward. He felt his face heat up with embarrassment and he heard the door open and shut behind him. Then he heard a voice, "Mr. Malfoy?" He jumped and turned around to find the large portrait of Professor Dumbledore smiling serenely at him.

"Ye-yes, Professor?"

"Shouldn't you be going to breakfast. Unless you've forgotten something too."

"Er, no. Thank you. I'm going to go now too."

"You know, Scorpius. Before you leave, I would like to congratulate you on using Rose Weasley's first name."

"Thank you, Professor." Scorpius said, wondering how exactly he had known.

"You're welcome. Now go off to breakfast. I expect there may still be some toast left if you're fast enough." It took a moment for the word to sink in before Scorpius hurried off to the Great Hall. Moments after he had entered, Rose entered too, clutching her bag and panting slightly. She sat down beside Albus and pointedly ignored Lily. Albus sighed and said, "Why can't the two of you just hug it off? You do that about almost everything. You did that when Teddy started dating Victoire and wouldn't look your way. How do you even like someone who's as close as he is? Especially you, Lily. I get Rose but not you."

"Well in that case, neither of us could have him so it was alright. And neither of us caused the other to lose house points and end up in detention." Rose said, glaring at Lily. Lily sighed and held up her hand to stop Roxanne from continuing her long speech about how she was convinced that she would one day meet some famous wizard that Lily was not particularly bothered about. She turned to Rose and said, "Did it bring you and Malfoy closer?"

"No it didn't." Rose lied.

"You liar. I can tell when you're lying, Rose. So don't even try. So it did bring you closer."

"Okay fine, yes. It brought Scorpius and I closer but that doesn't prove anything." She said. Then she realized that Lily, Roxanne and Albus were staring at her wide-eyed. It took her a moment to realize that she had used his first name.

 _Of course. When it needs to be easy, it won't._

"Did you just call... did she just call... Merlin's goddamn beard." Roxanne said, being the first to speak. The chatter along the rest of the Gryffindor table had been drowned out by a deafening silence.

"Rose, did you just call Malfoy by his first name?" Lily said, staring at her.

"Yes. So what if I did?" Rose said, trying to regain her air of annoyance towards Lily. Needless to say, she was failing miserably.

"If you've already come to first names...well you may as well start snogging him tomorrow!" Albus exclaimed, causing Roxanne to burst into a fit of giggles. Rose threw Albus a dirty look and said, "We are going to do no such thing. Now, if you'll excuse me-"

"Rose. You can't leave. You need to tell us everything. We _deserve_ to know." Lily said, looking at her earnestly. Rose looked around at the other two and they were nodding in agreement. Sighing, she sat down and told them how the words had tumbled out and everything. They listened to everything (although it wasn't a very long story) and at the end, all of them seemed to be thinking deeply. Then Lily bent towards Roxanne and whispered something into her ear. She listened and then nodded. Lily then whispered the same thing to Albus, who immediately said no. She glared at him and then whispered furiously again. He listened again and his eyes widened in disbelief. He looked at Rose for a second and then nodded. Lily grinned and then said, "Rose, we have come to a conclusion."

"That means her-Lily-not _us_."

"Please, Albus. Let me speak."

"Must I?"

"You had better or else-"

"Fine fine. No threats required."

"Good. Now, Rose, we have-"

"-come to a conclusion. Yeah."

 _"Will nobody let me finish?"_

"Sorry. Go on, Lily." Rose said, stifling a laugh.

"OK… _Rose_. We have come to a conclusion. We are willing to allow you to call Mr. Scorpius Malfoy by his first name provided that you promise to snog-"

"Lily." Albus said, staring at her.

"Fine. Provided that you promise to marry-"

"Lily!" Albus said again, now glaring at her.

"Merlin's beard! Alright! Provided that you will allow him to sleep-"

" _Lily_!" Albus exclaimed, now sounding shocked. Rose expected that he would be, considering that Lily was his little sister and no matter how much she tried to emphasize that she was fifteen, he would still take her to be the innocent little nine year old he had left behind when he first boarded the Hogwarts Express.

"Fine! No provisions required. You have our-"

" _Your_." Roxanne and Albus cut in.

"-full support." Lily finished, acting as if neither of them had even spoken.

"Thanks. That's great. And Lily, just for this, you're forgiven. But don't _ever_ land me in detention again or I will hex you into oblivion." She said and stood up to leave.

"Wait, are you going already?" Lily said.

"Yes. I'm on patrol duty today." She said and left. On her way out, she glanced at the Slytherin table where Scorpius was sitting. He was speaking animatedly with Charles Zabini. Rose sighed. _He_ hadn't told Charles that he and Rose were calling each other by their first names. It was obvious that he hadn't.

Although, he had.


	7. Hogsmeade Weekend

The Hogsmeade weekend was only days away and all the students were looking forward to it so much. Especially the seventh years, who were working harder than ever to keep up with schoolwork and set an example, needed a break from the confinements of the school. Rose was dying to go into the Three Broomsticks and get herself some butterbeer as was Scorpius and the rest of the school. Some of the seventh years were going to the Hog's Head to eavesdrop on conversations while having Firewhisky while others were going in pairs to Madam Puddifoot's for a romantic tea. When the weekend finally came, there was nothing but chaos as everyone bee-lined for the main door, leaving the first and second years behind. Lily dragged Rose with her and they were soon close enough to the main door. Filch stood at the door and marked off their names as they took off towards Hogsmeade.

The minute they entered the village, they went straight to the Three Broomsticks. It was already packed with Hogwarts students by the time they got there. Rose took a quick look around the pub and caught sight of Scorpius sitting with Charles somewhere at the back. Their gazes locked for a second and Rose gave him a half-smile. He didn't return it physically but she could see it in his eyes. He seemed to be trying very hard to concentrate on what Charles was saying but it was probably just the names of the girls he was planning to sleep with before the school year got over. Scorpius noticed Rose and Lily sit down at the seat by the window and wondered if Rose would look at him. It took him a moment to realize that she _was_ looking at him. He then pleaded with her, using his eyes, to get him out of this situation. She seemed to get the message because she nodded slightly and held up two fingers.

 _Two minutes._

And they were going to be the longest two minutes of Scorpius's life. Lily returned within the time frame and Rose stood up, saying something to her. Scorpius didn't understand what exactly she was saying but he didn't care as long as it got him out of this situation. Lily nodded and Rose gave her a hug before striding over to his table, her eyes fixed on him. She reached him and said, "Sorry, Zabini, but I'm going to have to steal Malfoy-"

"I know you use each other's first names, Weasley. He told me." Charles said, rolling his eyes.

"Did he now?" Rose said through gritted teeth and forcing a very unpleasant smile at Scorpius.

"He did. Now, why do you need to steal him away again?"

"Although I'd much rather leave him here, we have some duties to attend to which include preventing a bunch of third years from going to the Shrieking Shack. It's off-limits even now." She said, glaring at Scorpius now. He smiled guiltily.

"Well, be my guest." Charles said, moving away from the table. Rose nodded and roughly pulled Scorpius to his feet, leading him out of the Three Broomsticks, shoving him in front of her.

"Why the anger, Weasley?"

"Why the tattletale, Malfoy? _Why_ am I even _helping_ you! You told Zabini! I cannot believe- we had a pact!" She said, turning around and facing him once they were far enough away from the Three Broomsticks.

"Oh as if you haven't told anyone!"

"Well I haven't!" Rose lied.

"Really?" Now he sounded guilty. And although Rose loved making him feel guilty, she now felt guilty for making him feel guilty about a lie.

"No. I told Lily." Rose said in a small voice.

"You did what? Did you tell anyone else?" He said, staring at her furiously. Rose was slowly going red and she said, "I may have told Albus and Roxanne."

"So it's true then. Girls do tell each other everything."

"You just classified yourself as a girl!"

"I only told Charles!"

"And can you honestly say that you wouldn't have told anyone else if you could?"

"What do you mean 'if I could'? Are you implying that I have no friends?" Scorpius said.

"What? No! I just meant… well I haven't seen you around a lot of other Slytherins. It's always Zabini. But I'm sure you have friends!" She said hastily. A little _too_ hastily. Scorpius stared at her for a second with disbelief and then sighed, pinching his eyes. He said, "You're my friend, aren't you?"

"Of course I am!" Rose said, knowing that this wasn't a moment to dispute the idea of friendship. She must have just majorly pissed him off for him to ask such a question.

"Then I clearly have more than one friend. Now, should we go back?"

"I thought you wanted to escape Zabini."

"Well… yeah. I mean, yeah."

"What was he talking about anyway?"

"Probably the number of girls he's slept with since school began."

"What the hell?"

"Yeah. You know, instead of going back, there's this great spot I know in the forest on the outskirts of the village. Do you want to go?"

"How do you know about this place?"

"It doesn't matter." He said, pretending to brush something off in mid-air.

"Scorpius…" Rose said, sounding threatening.

"Oh fine! Charles told me he would give me ten galleons if I went to the spot and howled like a werewolf until one showed up."

"And you _did_ it?!"

"Totally worth it. I got ten galleons and I didn't get majorly hurt." Scorpius said, grinning at her. She rolled her eyes and said, "What's your definition of 'majorly hurt'?"

"Oh, you know, dead." He said, climbing over the fence. Rose stopped and stared at him, horrified. Then she said, "Where did you get hurt?"

"Well I got stabbed in the side by a tree branch while running away from the wolf so I have this really hot scar on my right side which all the girls," he glanced at Rose quickly and cleared his throat, "er… I mean _people_ found really attractive." He finished and grinned at her again. Rose rolled her eyes, pushing a branch out of the way and bending to walk underneath it. Scorpius was obviously in the lead.

"You know, Scorpius, I'm not going to feel jealous if you have girls drooling over you."

"Why Rose? Are you one of them?" He said and although his back was to her, Rose could see the smirk playing along his lips at that moment. She was just about to deny it in a high and confident manner when Scorpius slammed her into the nearby tree. She felt the breath get knocked out of her and wheezed angrily, "What the damn hell, Scorpius! What in Merlin's name was that for?!"

"Sh!" He said, one hand on her wrist, holding her against the tree and the other had come up to cover her mouth. Rose, in a fit of annoyance, licked his palm. He immediately removed it and glared at her, furiously wiping the saliva on his robes. She gave him a smug smile and he rolled his eyes. Then she heard it. A twig snapped and when she strained her hearing, she could hear very faint footfalls. Someone was approaching them. And fast. She heard a slightly high-pitched laughter- obviously a girl's- and then a lower laughter. Her eyes widened when she realized that it was Albus'. No no no, he couldn't know that she and Scorpius were alone over here. He already disapproved about the first name pact. And now this? Scorpius seemed to realize who it was too because his eyes widened for a moment and he said, "Do you trust me?"

"What kind of a crazy question is that?! My cousin is approaching and you're accusing me of having trust issues?!" She whispered furiously.

"Just answer the bloody question, Rose."

"Fine. I sorta do. I mean, I'm not sure-"

"Good enough. Don't protest." He said and Rose saw his face coming closer and closer. _Oh no. Oh no no no! Hell no! He is not going to kiss me! Is he? Well it would be my first kiss. And he is Scorpius Malfoy. It's true that girls drool over him. But still. The purity of my first kiss! Oh screw purity!_ Rose's eyes had closed at some point of time during her train of thought and she could feel his breath on her face. He was literally a tiptoe away from kissing her when he said, "Phew. That was close." _Is he talking about the kiss? Was this whole thing a setup?! I am going to kill... did I actually want to be kissed? Wow. Never thought that would happen_.

"Rose?"

"What?"

"Potter's gone. You can open your eyes now."

"Oh uh yeah." Rose said, opening her eyes quickly and trying to pass it off as blinking. She was going red with embarrassment because her eyes had actually been closed even after Albus had gone past. She could feel the awkwardness in the air. The excitement involved in seeing the place where Scorpius had once been attacked was long gone and the air around them was thick with awkwardness and intimacy. Rose didn't know what exactly to do next. It had been a brilliant plan, of course. But the almost-kiss may have just ruined their new-found friendship. Finally Scorpius said, "We should go back. They'll probably realize when they go to see why we haven't returned from the Shrieking Shack."

"Yeah. Let's go back." Rose said, more than eager to get out of the forest and never return. They went out of the forest in complete silence. The previous ease with which they could make conversation was completely gone. Once they arrived on the edge of the forest, Scorpius said, "This is where we split. I'll see you later… _Rose_." For the first time since the first name pact, Scorpius had needed to force Rose's name out.

"Yeah. I'll see you soon too." Rose said, not even bothering to try to say his name. Then she turned around and went off in the direction of the Three Broomsticks, unsure of whether or not to tell Lily about what happened. Scorpius stared at her retreating back and the little voice inside his head said:

 _I can't believe you actually wanted to kiss her._


	8. The Aftermath of the Almost-Kiss

The week following the almost-kiss was incredibly awkward for both Rose and Scorpius. They avoided mentioning it for the most part but whenever the Hogsmeade weekend came up, they would go silent. And the air would be filled with an awkward silence which was only broken when one of them finally cleared their throat and left the room. This was happening a little too often and Lily and Charles were beginning to notice. Whenever either of them brought up the Shrieking Shack around their respective friends, both of them would change the topic and strike up a conversation about something else. Lily was the first one to handle the situation since Charles just figured that something weird had happened at the Shack. But Lily wasn't letting go very easily. She ambushed Rose before breakfast, pulling her into a dark corridor somewhere on Rose's floor. She pulled her into the corridor and said, "Okay, what the hell happened between you and Malfoy at that Shack?!"

"Is Albus seeing someone?" Rose asked, changing the subject. She also wanted to know because she had heard female laughter but hadn't seen the person.

"Don't change the subject, Rose! Answer the question!"

"What?! Nothing happened! We just went to the Shack, told off the third years and came back to the Three Broomsticks!"

"No you didn't. Don't lie to me, Weasley. What happened?" Lily said. Rose knew that she really wanted to know because Lily never used Rose's last name unless she was completely serious. Rose knew that this was the perfect moment to tell the truth. So she said, "Scorpius and I kissed." If Lily had been drinking something, she would have spit out her drink all over the floor. She stared at Rose for a second and said, "Excuse me." Rose waited and Lily returned with a goblet of water ( _where did she get that?!_ Rose wondered). She took a gulp of it and then spat it out all over the floor. Rose had to jump out of the line of fire.

"Lily!"

"You and Malfoy… _kissed_?"

"Okay no. We didn't. We almost did. But we didn't." She confessed.

"What? Why?"

"Scorpius wanted to show me something but then we heard Albus coming and we needed to hide- because Al couldn't see me with him- and so he pretended to kiss me until Al left with his _girlfriend_. So who is Al seeing?"

"Not important. What do you mean 'pretended to kiss'?"

"Well he brought his face really close but we didn't actually kiss." She said and held up her palm, bringing it close to her face to show the distance. Lily's eyes widened when she saw the distance between the palm and her hand. She said, "And he managed to stop himself from kissing you after that?!"

"Well… yeah."

"But… _how_?!"

"I don't know! Ask him! Actually wait. Don't ask him. He'll kill me for telling you. We have an unspoken agreement not to speak about it." She admitted.

"Oh my god. The two of you _clearly_ like each other. You should kiss and seal the deal."

"Lily, may I remind you that there is a _huge_ difference between dating and getting married. Huge."

"Size doesn't matter." Lily said, waving her hand. Rose rolled her eyes and said, "No Lily, we're not going to get married. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to go for breakfast and fill myself up a little before Transfiguration." Rose said, moving out of the tiny hallway and going towards the Great Hall. Lily followed her and said, "You should try going out. It can't hurt."

"Lily, let it go." Rose said, now regretting telling Lily anything at all. But she knew that Lily wouldn't let it go because Lily just wasn't that kind of girl. And, as Rose had predicted, she didn't.

"But you'd look so good together! Not to mention, you could flip off any girl in the school. Literally everyone wants to get with him whether it's for a one-night stand or otherwise. And-" her voice died out as they entered the Great Hall. Rose followed her gaze and saw her staring at the Slytherin table. There were three girls talking to Scorpius and Rose could tell that they were flirting by watching their expressions. She looked at Lily and said, "Just a second. I need to take care of something."

Saying that it was awkward between him and Rose was an understatement. Sure, it got less awkward as time passed but they couldn't even speak about Hogsmeade. Whenever Charles brought up the Hogsmeade weekend, Scorpius would nod and listen although he wasn't really comprehending what was being said. His mind would reel back to the moment in the forest and he would only come back to reality when the topic changed. Charles noticed but preferred not to speak about it since it obviously made Scorpius uncomfortable. But finally he had had enough. He had been talking about the new barmaid who had replaced Madam Rosmerta and once again Scorpius had zoned out. He said, "OK, Malfoy. That's enough. Spill the beans."

"What?" Scorpius asked, coming back.

"Why do you zone out every time I talk about Hogsmeade?"

"I do _not_."

"Answer the question, Scorpius."

"Nothing happened at Hogsmeade. Nobody went into the forest and nobody did anything in there! I swear!" He said, not realizing what he had said. He had been thinking so far into the conversation that he was answering a completely different question. Charles' eyes widened and he said, "Why did you go into the forest and what did you do there?"

"What? Nothing! I just told you!"

"You didn't answer my question properly, Scorpius. So shut up and tell me."

"That's very contradictory, you know. 'Shut up and tell me'."

"I don't care. If you don't tell me, I will Crucio you."

"Fine fine! I had a small moment with Rose. It was nothing. Seriously."

"Good or bad."

"Oh it was definitely bad."

"Your grin tells a completely different story." Charles pointed out and Scorpius then realized that he had been grinning. Quickly going back to his previous expression of passivity, he said, "No, it was definitely bad. I mean, we almost-" he broke off, going red. Charles' eyes widened and he said, "You almost…?"

"Nothing. We almost nothing. Honestly Charles, just let it go."

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy! What did you almost do! And you owe me this because I used your middle name even though I hate it from the bottom of my heart, all the way to the top! I mean, really, what kind of a name is Hyperion?" Charles said and Scorpius rolled his eyes. He said, "Fine! We almost kissed. But we didn't. Which is why it is incredibly awkward whenever Hogsmeade comes up."

"Merlin's beard. You _really_ like this girl, don't you? I mean, I've seen you with crushes before, Scorpius. It hasn't been _this_ bad. Ever. Remember Clara? Aunt Daphne's daughter? You _totally_ liked her but the second you went out, you got bored of her. Even _she_ wasn't this bad."

"Clara was boring! All she could talk about were other girls and _their_ lives! I don't _care_ about the other girls!"

"And Weasley is somehow different?"

"Rose is _completely_ different! She has her friends but she doesn't go on and on about them. And she isn't going to change just because we start going out. _If_ we start going out. Which we probably won't."

"I can't believe I'm doing this but my matchmaker instincts–" Scorpius snorted.

"–are kicking in," Charles glared at him, "and so I'm going to get you and Weasley to go out"

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

"First step: jealousy. You'd be surprised by how many girls want to get into bed with you. And I've gotten into bed with a few of them. So, I'm going to make Rose Weasley jealous. If she pulls you away from the Slytherin table, it's a plus point. If she doesn't, it's a minus point." Charles said, proudly. Scorpius rolled his eyes again and said, "Fine. She probably won't."

" _That_ is for her to decide." He said and pushed Scorpius in front of him, towards the doors of the Great Hall before following him. For a minute Charles stared at the Slytherin table and his eyes came to rest on three girls. Three eerily perfect girls. Scorpius had a feeling that they had Veela blood in them. Charles went to them, Scorpius following behind. Just before approaching them, he spotted a girl sitting next to the three girls but she was obviously not part of their little perfect group. Scorpius felt slightly sorry for the girl because he knew that Charles was going to try to get her. Charles said, "Okay so I have this move and it's pretty perfect. Well there's this show on television–don't ask what that is– and there's this guy in it who is great with the girls. And he helps out his friends too. So I'm going to pull one of his moves on these three fine ladies who will definitely want you."

"I swear if it's something stupid-" Scorpius began as Charles pulled him down into the seat and slid in front of the three girls. He cut Scorpius off by saying, "Hey ladies, haaave you met Scorpius?" Scorpius mentally cursed Charles until he realized that it was working. The girls turned and gave him a once over at the same time. It was beyond creepy. Then the one in the middle smiled and said, "No we haven't. But we can't wait. Scorpius, was it?"

"Yes. Hi. And you are…?"

"I'm April, this is May and this is June." The girl in the middle pointed to herself and then to the girl on her right and left respectively.

"Where's July? Or did she miss the monthly update?" Scorpius joked. The girls laughed easily but Scorpius caught looks of evil being shared between the three of them. Not evil. But something very similar. He had a feeling that there probably _was_ a July… _once_. He then realized that their laughs had been _too_ easy. Then May said, "You're a very funny person. You're really good." The Creepy Sisters laughed again but this time it was more real. Scorpius relaxed a little. Then he said, "I'm sure you're just as funny." More laughter. Then June said, "So… Scorpius–" Scorpius felt a strong hand on his shoulder yank him off the bench and he came face to face with none other than Rose Weasley. His eyes widened and he looked at Charles over his shoulder, who had a wide grin on his face. Rose said, "I'm _really_ sorry to have to interrupt your little chat–"

"Then don't." April said and May and June laughed.

"–but I need to steal him away for a few minutes." She finished, through gritted teeth. And, if looks could kill, the entire Slytherin table would be covered with corpses. May opened her mouth to say something and Rose stood a little straighter, holding up her chin, challenging May to speak. Scorpius noticed April put her hand on May's wrist and shake her head so slightly that he would have missed it if he had blinked. May closed her mouth and stared at Rose, glowering. Rose gave a fleeting smile of triumph and then strode out of the Great Hall, pulling Scorpius along with her in her abnormally strong grip. Once they were a safe distance away from the Hall, she turned to Scorpius and said, "What was that? Care to explain?"

"That was– wait, why am I even explaining myself. I don't need to explain myself to you."

"Yes you do. Because I'm the Head Girl which means I'm basically the bride of the school."

"The bride of the… what?"

"When you get married, you'll understand."

"Okay… are you implying that I'm the groom?" He grinned at her goofily and she flicked his forehead, saying, "Focus, Malfoy. What the hell was that? Back there? In the Great Hall?"

"Well, those girls were April, May and June. And–"

"What? Did July not get the monthly update or something?" Rose said, snorting.

"That's what I said!" Scorpius said, grinning. Rose rolled her eyes and said, "You were flirting with them, weren't you?"

"Well… we never actually got to that part because someone pulled me away before the actual fun could start." There was a flash of skin, a crack and a loud howl which followed. Lily came running outside and found Rose standing there, staring at Scorpius, whose hand covered one cheek (although Lily could very clearly see the red spreading underneath his hand). She said, "Merlin's beard. What happened here?!" Lily's voice broke the spell and Rose's eyes widened in horror as she realized what she had done. Her hand came up to cover her mouth as she stared at Scorpius who was fervently rubbing his cheek. She said, "Oh my god… I'm so sorry. I just. I don't know what came over me. Oh my god, Scorpius, I am so sorry!"

" _What the hell, Weasley! Why did you slap me?!"_ He screamed, now regaining his sense of reasoning.

"I really don't know! I'm so sorry!"

"You don't know?! Are you sure this couldn't be how you display a little emotion called, oh I don't know, _jealousy_? Seriously?! You show it by _slapping_ someone! Not a way to win a man's heart, Rose!"

"If you're so convinced that I was jealous, maybe next time you won't _flirt_ with the first three women you _MEET_!" Her voice became louder and louder until she screeched.

"I wasn't flirting! How many times do I need to tell you! And are you claiming that it wasn't jealousy that made you go all crazy?"

"Well of course it wasn't! You're just completely neglecting your duties as Head Boy! What if someone was drowning in the Lake?! Would you care?! Or would you just stay in the Hall and flirt?!"

"I hardly think it takes _two_ people to get _one_ person out of the Lake." Scorpius scoffed. Rose stared at him in disbelief and said, "This. This is why you're in Slytherin. I'm sorry that I slapped you." She said and left. Scorpius stared at her, not knowing what to say or what she meant. Once she was out of earshot, he turned to Lily but before he could say anything, she said, "It isn't the number of people that save the kid that matters, genius. It's the number of people who care enough to be there that does." She turned and followed after Rose. Scorpius stood there, staring at Lily who started out walking in Rose's direction but then broke into a jog and then a run.


	9. The Calm Before the Storm

They hadn't spoken to each other since then. Not one word had been exchanged. Scorpius pretended Rose didn't exist and, after a point of time, Rose stopped trying to get his attention. Lily convinced her to give him "space and time" and said that he would be fine in the end. Rose didn't completely agree but she decided not to push him to speak to her. She really was jealous. And she knew that. But she was living in denial. Every time her mind told her that she was jealous, she would scoff at it and ignore it. But one day, almost three weeks later, a miracle happened:

Scorpius came downstairs with his books. Rose was already there. She glanced up at him and met his eyes briefly but immediately tore her gaze away, feeling her cheeks heat up. She really hoped he wouldn't see them. And then the miracle happened.

"Hey." Scorpius said. Rose looked at him, her eyebrows shooting up and a smile beginning to appear on her face. She said, "Hey." With as much warmth as she could muster. Scorpius must've noticed the warmth because he gave a small smile of his own. Rose beamed now but went back to working, determined not to push her luck.

"So... what have you been up to lately?" Scorpius asked, opening his Transfiguration textbook and writing down the heading of questionnaire they were supposed to be answering. Rose was already halfway done with it. Scorpius wouldn't admit it but he had missed Rose. He hadn't forgiven her but he still missed her. The way she laughed, the way her whole face lit up when she was happy, the way... _no Scorpius. Stop_. The voice inside his head ordered him and he agreed with it. He was determined to be in denial too.

"Oh nothing. Homework. Meals. Classes. Studying. What about you?" Rose said, snapping Scorpius out of his thoughts.

"Pretty much the same."

"No more flirting with the Month Sisters?"

"Nope. I actually haven't spoken to them since that day." He said, starting to write.

"Oh." Rose said, the events of that day playing vividly in her mind. They lapsed into an awkward silence and worked that way for a while. Then Rose broke the silence and said, "I really am sorry, you know."

"I know." Scorpius said, simply.

"So...?"

"So...what?"

"Do you...um...forgive me?" Rose asked. Scorpius paused for a moment, as if contemplating the thought, and then said, "Yes." Not a "sure" not a "why not" but a yes. Not even a sarcastic one. A strong yes with a sense of finality. Rose couldn't even contain herself. She grinned and launched herself at Scorpius, throwing her arms around him and hugging him. Scorpius chuckled, sending reverberations down his chest which Rose felt perfectly well. He said, "This is probably the most body contact we've ever had."

"Yeah, it probably is." Rose said, unable to stop smiling. She got off Scorpius and said, "Thank you. And sorry about the hug." Although she wasn't sure if she meant this apology. She had completely meant to hug him but felt the need to apologise anyway. Scorpius laughed again and said, "It's alright, Rose."

"We should probably get back to work." Rose said, now blushing profoundly. She didn't even bother hiding it this time. Scorpius stopped laughing and stared at her. He said, "You're blushing."

"It's the cold."

"There's a fire in here. You're blushing."

"No I'm seriously not. Now let it go."

"You're blushing."

"Stop it!"

"You're blushing." He said.

"Yes. Yes I am. Sue me." Rose said, turning back to her work and letting her hair fall so that it formed a curtain between them. She began working, although she wasn't really concentrating on what she was writing. _Oh my GOD, Rose. You just blushed. Screw that. You just blushed in front of SCORPIUS MALFOY. The guy you obviously have a crush on. Oh my God. SCORPIUS MALFOY._

"I think you mean Mandrake. Not Malfoy." Scorpius said, breaking Rose out of her trance. She blushed furiously again. No no no. She might like him but she couldn't be one of those soppy girls who would doodle the name of her boyfriend- wait, what? _Boyfriend?_

"Um yeah. Thanks." Rose muttered, not able to stop herself from blushing.

"Why did you write Malfoy anyway?" _Merlin, do you think he's onto you?_

"Accident." She said, refusing to look at him and make eye contact.

"Really?" He said, cocking an eyebrow and indicating that he was seeing right through her lie.

"Seriously!" She said, now making eye contact. They maintained eye contact for a few moments before Scorpius looked away, giving up. They began working in silence again. The silence was heavy but not awkward. Suddenly Scorpius said, "Do you want to go to the Forest?"

"The... Forbidden Forest?"

"No. The forest in Asia. Of _course_ the Forbidden Forest."

"Oh um now?"

"No. Next year. Yes, now."

"Okay one, drop the sarcastic attitude and two, why?"

"Must there be a reason?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I just don't feel like doing Transfiguration right now so I would like to go to the Forest instead. Reason enough?" Rose sighed. She really needed to do her homework. But the Forbidden Forest. With Scorpius Malfoy no less. The idea was too tempting and she said, "Okay fine. Let's go." He grinned at her and held out his hand. She took it, butterflies exploding in her stomach when she did so, and walked alongside him to the common room exit. Once they were there, Scorpius realised that they were still holding hands. He didn't dare show any indication though because he was scared that she would withdraw. He didn't usually like holding hands with people but he was making an exception. Rose didn't particularly enjoy holding hands with anyone either. And Scorpius was no exception to this. So she was thankful when they reached the common room exit. She said, "I think I just might have to let go to open the door."

"Oh yeah. Sorry." He blushed and Rose giggled. He looked so cute when he was awkward. She pushed open the door and went out, greeting Albus Dumbledore on the way out. He smiled at them and said, "Just be sure to find your way out. I hear there's a storm coming."

"Thank you. We will." Rose said, smiling. She had had many more conversations with him than Scorpius had had. Which is why she replied easily while Scorpius gave a stiff nod. Then they went downstairs. On the way down a moving staircase, Scorpius said, "How are you able to speak to him so easily?"

"He's very friendly." She said and Scorpius didn't respond. He didn't know how exactly to respond to that so he just nodded. Then Rose said, "So where are we going?"

"That's a surprise."

"So it's like a date?"

"What?" Scorpius wasn't sure he had heard her correctly.

"It's like a-" She began slower but Scorpius cut her off, saying, "No! Merlin no! No, it's just two friends hanging out because they don't feel like doing their boring Transfiguration homework." He said and Rose laughed. She said, "Calm down, Scorpius, I was joking." _No you weren't._

They arrived at the beginning of the forest. The sky was still clear but there was a hint of grey even so. Rose looked up nervously and said, "Whatever excursion you have planned out will probably have to be cut short. We need to find our way back."

"I know the way back." Scorpius said and Rose rolled her eyes. She said, "Even if you do, I'd rather not walk through a forest when it's raining, thank you very much."

"Don't worry." Scorpius said. "Ready?"

"Ready." Rose confirmed and he stepped into the forest. Rose followed and they walked for quite a distance. She said, "Um Scorpius, where exactly _is_ this place?"

"We should be approaching it soon." Scorpius lied through his teeth. They had already lost their way. But he wasn't about to let her know that they had. He was hoping they'd stumble upon a clearing and it would be beautiful. And he couldn't believe his luck when they did stumble upon a clearing. Putting on a perfect act, he said, "Here."

"It's beautiful." Rose breathed, staring at the landscape before her. He smiled too. But he wasn't looking at the landscape. He was looking at her. The weather was pleasant and Scorpius said, "You want to sit by the lake? Just for a while?"

"Sure." Rose said, giving him a warm smile. They went to the lake over there and sat down by it. Rose said, "How did you find this place?"

"Chance." Scorpius lied, shrugging. She smiled and, picking up a stick, began drawing in the wet mud. Scorpius just watched her draw. She was drawing a person. And she could draw really well. Scorpius shifted closer so that their shoulders were almost touching but not quite. After a few minutes, he said, "Who is that?"

"Someone." Rose said, glancing up at him and giving him another smile. He smiled back and they both knew that they were thinking the exact thing. They were both leaning in. But then the lightning happened. And then the thunder happened. And the storm came down on them.


	10. The Storm

Rose's eyes shot open at the sound of thunder. She wasn't really scared of thunder but it made her jump. Scorpius must've realized that his lips weren't meeting anyone's so he opened his eyes too and saw Rose sitting straight, staring at him. He gave a small frown, wondering if it was going too fast. They had only known each other for a little more than a month. Oh shut up. As if you care about time. The little voice said. He ignored it and said, "What's wrong?"

"I don't... nothing. It's going to rain." But that wasn't it. She couldn't figure out what was. Maybe she wasn't ready to sacrifice her first kiss. He was a Malfoy, after all. _He's a **hot** Malfoy_. The voice reasoned and she rolled her eyes at it.

"Yeah, looks like it, doesn't it?" Scorpius said, noticing how she had swiftly changed the subject. But she had said nothing, hadn't she? So why weren't they kissing yet? Then he realized what she had said. It was going to rain. They were lost in the centre of the Forbidden Forest (he was assuming that they were in the centre) and it was going to rain. _Great timing, Scorpius._

"Mhmm. I'm assuming you know the way back?" She sounded so skeptical, it was almost offensive. Almost. It would be if Scorpius actually knew his way back. Which, he didn't.

"Well..."

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy! Do not tell me that we have gotten lost! Did you actually have a clearing or did you take me randomly because you wanted company for a walk?"

"Um..."

"Scorpius..." Now she sounded plain threatening. And it scared Scorpius. He didn't actually think that Rose Weasley (the really adorable, innocent-looking Rose Weasley) could ever seem threatening. But she did now. Her eyes were stormy with anger and her face was contorted in such a manner that she looked like she was ready to blow her top at any moment. The rain then came. First a few drops and then the drizzle started. And it was getting stronger. Rose huffed and turned around, storming out of the clearing. Scorpius took a moment to debate on whether or not to follow her. Then he followed. He caught up with her fairly quickly. She was leaning against a tree. He started, "Rose-"

"Sh." She said, shutting him up. He frowned at her. She pointed at her ear then at a random direction. Scorpius listened hard. It was clearly Albus Potter. He said, "But kissing in the rain is romantic."

"Yes, but making out in a storm is not. So come on. We're getting out of here." An unidentifiable female voice said. Scorpius frowned at Rose, whose eyebrows had shot up. She mouthed the word "Alice" to him. He nodded, pretending he understood, when in reality he didn't know who this Alice person was. Potter said, "Fine." With an exaggerated sigh. The drizzle was getting heavier. Soon it would start pouring. Scorpius hoped that Albus and Alice knew their way out of the Forest. Rose nodded and they followed the pair. Scorpius could just see the silhouettes of Albus and Alice. But he could tell that they definitely liked each other. He's turn and give her a smile every so often. It wasn't as if she was saying anything. He would just smile at her. Scorpius felt very awkward about this and, in some weird way, jealous. He glanced at Rose, trying to read her face. But her face remained impassive. Little did he know the feelings churning through her.

 _"...kissing in the rain is romantic." See? Al thinks so. There's no reason why you shouldn't think so. It doesn't make you weird or weak to find kissing in the rain romantic, Rose. Honest. Trust me. I'm you, after all. You'd just be trusting yourself. And plus, it'd be **Scorpius Malfoy** you'd be kissing. Screw first kisses right? He is known for his snogging abilities. Okay, he isn't. But it's your chance to change that._

Just keep you face impassive.

 _Or just turn around and kiss the man!_

No.

 _You're being retarded._

You're retarded.

 _Your face is retarded._

We share the same face.

 _Shit._ That shut the voice up and Rose managed to keep an impassive face, following her cousin. But they weren't going out of the Forest. If anything, they were going deeper. Rose's teeth were beginning to chatter with cold and her lips were beginning to go blue. The downpour had started and the trees provided little cover. Soon, they would be completely soaked. And there was a wind. It was so cold. Scorpius noticed that Rose was shivering. He paused and pulled out a jar from his jacket (why did he have a jar in his jacket? Must be Charles) and pointed his wand inside it after unscrewing the lid. He muttered, " _Incendio_." A medium-sized flame went inside the jar. He quickly screwed the lid, so that it wouldn't get put out by the rain. Then he jogged over to where Rose was walking. But she was hardly focusing. He held out the flame to her. She took it, giving him a thankful smile and warming her hands, before tucking it into her jacket to warm her up. Her clothes were still wet but she had stopped shivering and her lips were returning to their natural colour. Scorpius, on the other hand, was now starting to feel cold. He stayed close to Rose, trying to absorb some heat from the jar through her thin jacket fabric. Rose didn't object to the proximity. They walked for what felt like forever. Finally they saw Albus and Alice again. They began following them again and were led to a cottage.

"I didn't know there was a cottage here." Alice said, voicing Rose and Scorpius's thoughts.

"Yeah. Nobody does."

"How did you know?"

"Found it."

"How?"

"Was taking a walk."

"Oh I suppose that since you're Harry Potter's kid, you can go for a stroll in the Forbidden Forest anytime." Alice said.

"Pretty much. Yeah." Albus said and Rose could imagine him grinning at her. Rose grabbed Scorpius's wrist and dragged him to the back, hoping there was a backdoor or a small barn or something. There was a backdoor. It opened soundlessly and they entered the cottage. There was a small staircase near the backdoor, leading upstairs and Albus and Alice were making their way up it already. Rose shuddered, not wanting to think about what they were going to go upstairs and do. Scorpius, on the other hand, looked amused. Rose went to the empty fireplace and, pointing her wand at it, muttered, " _Incendio_." A bright flame appeared and Rose sat down on the shabby couch, peeling off her drenched jacket and shaking out her hair. Scorpius did the same, sitting down next to her. They sat in silence for a while. Complete silence. There was no noise even from upstairs. But Rose wasn't thinking about that. Her mind was on the clearing. As was Scorpius's. Finally he broke the silence saying, "About what happened..."

"The clearing, you mean?"

"Did I ever tell you that you could be psychic?"

"Thank you. But we just happened to be thinking the same thing at this particular moment." Rose said, giving him a small smile.

"So... do we need to talk about it?"

"What's to talk about? We almost kissed but we didn't. That's all there is to it... isn't there?"

"Um yeah. That's all there is to it. I guess." Scorpius said, looking at the floor awkwardly. Rose's heart sunk but she gave him a smile anyway and said, "This is like Hogsmeade all over again." Scorpius felt even more awkward when he was reminded of Hogsmeade.

"It was really hard not to... do so that day." Scorpius admitted, not knowing why he did so. He felt like an idiot immediately after he said that.

"So why did you?" Rose said, looking down.

"Why did I what?"

"Why did you stop yourself?"

"Because... I don't know. Why did you pull away today?" He said, turning her question around. Rose noticed and went slightly red.

"I don't know." She said, after a pause. She tried to think of a reason but nothing came to mind. There were a few minutes of silence.

"Well what about now?" Scorpius said, after the minutes had passed. Rose looked at him quizzically. He sighed and elaborated, "Would now be a good time to kiss you?" Rose immediately began blushing a deep shade of red which rivalled her already blazing red hair (which looked redder in the firelight). She said, "Why would you even ask such a question?"

"Is that a yes?"

"No. It's an embarrassment." _Oh shut up, Rose._

"Huh?"

"Nobody asks such weird questions, Scorpius. It's weird and awkward and-"

"You've never been kissed before, have you?"

"What?" Rose was stunned. She didn't want to admit to it.

"You, Rose Weasley, haven't been-"

"I heard you the first time." She said, quickly, before he said it again and rubbed it in.

"So it's true? You're a seventeen-year-old witch who's never been kissed?" He sounded amused. She suddenly realised why she hadn't kissed him. Sure, Lily had been pushing her to kiss people for years but she kept thinking about all the times she had read about being kissed. It was supposed to be magical (and not the Wizarding kind) and amazing. And she was scared that her first kiss would not live up to her expectations. And she didn't want to be disappointed. Not by the first one.

"So what if I haven't?" Rose said, still red. She could feel her face's heat.

"You actually haven't?"

"No. I haven't. Big deal. What's the big deal about kisses anyway?"

"Oh there's no _deal_ about them. Just the fact that you're seventeen and famous and have never been kissed. I mean, have you _seen_ you?" Rose felt her stomach do a flip when he said that and couldn't stop herself from smiling. Scorpius noticed and moved closer to her. She turned to face him and said, "Thank you. But it still hasn't happened."

"So I was going to be your first kiss?" He asked. This time he wasn't smiling. He was just staring at her intently. She felt herself going even redder: Something she hadn't thought was possible.

"You _are_ going to be my first kiss." Rose said before closing the distance between them and kissing him.


	11. After The Storm

The minute Rose's lips met his, Scorpius's eyes shut. And he kissed her back. But he didn't pull her closer or anything. All he did was kiss her. She noticed this and she didn't lift her arms to encircle his neck either. It just felt right this way. It increased the intimacy of the kiss. There was no more physical contact. There was no tongue either. They broke apart and Rose just stared at him. He stared back at her. She breathed, "You're my first kiss."

"And I'm going to be your second." Scorpius said, moving closer and kissing her again. This time it was different. The waters had been tested and now they plunged into it. Scorpius's hands began with cupping her cheeks and her hands cupped his. Then his hands migrated down and held her waist. She moved her arms down and encircled his neck, running his hair through her fingers continuously. It was still damp but remained soft. The kiss deepened and Rose began feeling breathless. An amazing kind of breathless. And Scorpius was an amazing kisser. Not like she had anyone to compare it with but she was pretty sure that this was the definition of a good kiss. Scorpius had kissed people before, though. But the kind of feeling he got when he kissed Rose was new. There was a sense of raw emotion in the kiss. And it was amazing. He supposed that this was the kind of emotion a first kiss brought for a person. They finally broke away, foreheads resting against each other, and breathing hard. Rose smiled at him and said, "I think we can update our relationship status again."

"Really? To what? Friends with benefits?"

"Is that what we are?" Rose said, feigning annoyance.

"I'm so glad you have a problem with that." He said, kissing her forehead. Immediately Rose's fave heated up and she felt herself blushing a lot. She smiled up at him, saying nothing. He smiled at her. But then the moment was broken:

" _Rose?!_ " Albus and Alice's voices rang out. Rose's eyes widened as she realized where she was and who she was with. _Did you really think Albus would never find out?_ The voice said and Rose cursed it. Scorpius froze when he heard the voices, hoping uselessly that they would go away if he didn't acknowledge them. His back was to them anyway. Rose looked up and gave them a fake smile. She said, "Hey."

"Don't _hey_ me! How come you're here! What are you _doing_ here! And who is that?!" Albus fired three questions at her. Her face fell and she looked helpless. She gave him a look as if to say: Don't turn around.

"Well I heard you and Alice snogging in the forest and followed you here. Because I needed to find shelter."

"Oh. And so you decided to bring your own little snogging partner, did you?" Rose felt her face go ablaze.

"Um no. We were just leaving anyway."

"Whoever you are, turn around. I want to see who you are." Albus said, with an air of authority that Rose didn't know she had. But she had her own authority. Scorpius was about to turn around when Rose firmly said, "No."

"What do you mean no?" Albus said, his voice faltering.

"You didn't tell me about Alice so you don't need to know who this is. We're leaving." She grabbed Scorpius's wrist and pulled him out of the front door, putting out the fire with a flick of her wand. Once they were outside, Scorpius said, "So...um...what now?"

"We go back to the castle and resume duties. We need to finish our homework anyway." Rose said, convincing herself that that's what she needed to do. Scorpius frowned but then realized that she was already walking swiftly towards the edge of the forest. And she was walking _really_ fast. Scorpius half jogged to keep up and said, "Slow down woman!"

"Sorry." Rose said, slowing down a little. Emphasis on "little". But now Scorpius just had to fast-walk to keep up with her. So it was better. Then he said, "So...we're going back to the common room to _study_?"

"Yes. Why? Would you like to snog some more?"

"Oh good. I thought you had forgotten about that. So, about that..."

"I'm listening?" She took a sharp turn.

"Well," Scorpius followed her, "what was that?"

"It's weird how people think that girls usually ask such questions. What _was_ that? What does it mean? Are we together? Or was that the kiss version of a one-night stand?"

"That doesn't answer the question, Rose." Scorpius said, stepping in front of her and holding her shoulders to prevent collision. She looked up at him and said, "What do you want me to say? That was a kiss. And Albus coming and catching us but primarily, a kiss."

"Why didn't you want Albus to see who I was?"

"Are you upset about that?" Rose asked, softly. Scorpius was taken aback by how her tone had suddenly shifted to soft. He said, "No. I understand. I do."

"Okay." She said, nodding and then, sidestepping him, continued to walk. He ran in front of her again and said, "Wait."

"What?"

"Um… do you want to… I don't know, go out or something?" Scorpius asked, blushing. Rose's eyed widened a little and she felt her face heating up. She said, "Oh. Um, yeah. Sure."

"Sure?"

"Sure." Rose said, smiling now. But even she wasn't oblivious to the sudden awkwardness setting in. He nodded and said, "Okay then. So... how about tomorrow? Evening? Dinner? The Room of Requirement?"

"That sounds great." Rose said, smiling warmly as they exited the Forest and made their way towards the building. They sprinted through the castle, careful not to get caught, and reached the portrait to find Dumbledore missing. Rose let out a cry of frustration and said, "Merlin! What I'd give for a hot shower right now!"

"Well... we could use the Prefects' bathrooms, couldn't we?" Scorpius said, looking completely nonchalant. Rose let out a laugh and said, "Forgive me, Scorpius, but I don't think I'm ready to see you naked just yet." Scorpius immediately went red. A deep red. He glared at her and said, "I didn't mean together." Rose laughed some more and then said, "Oh would you calm down. I'll go shower in the Gryffindor dorms. I'll meet Lily while I'm there too. You could go to the Slytherin dorms, I suppose."

"I'd rather use the Prefects' bathroom, thanks." Scorpius said, somewhat haughtily. As if the Slytherin bathrooms were below him. Rose sighed and said, "Suit yourself. But I heard that the Prefects are planning to have a pool party."

"Oh." Scorpius said, going red again.

"You could always wait for Professor Dumbledore to come back." Rose suggested, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah. I suppose I could. But I'd rather just take a shower. So I'll see you back in the common room then? We need to go in opposite directions after all." He said and Rose felt her heart plummet a little with disappointment. Disappointment that she didn't care to hide. She said, "Yeah okay. I'll see you at dinner anyway. We should probably go directly for dinner."

"We probably should." Scorpius agreed although he didn't actually agree. But it seemed more logical.

"Alright then. I'll see you in the Great Hall. See you soon, I guess." Rose gave him a half smile and was about to turn to leave when Scorpius kissed her on an impulse. She was taken by surprise but nevertheless closes her eyes and kissed him back briefly. But she broke away quickly. She knew that she wouldn't want to let go if it got too heated up and while she loved kissing Scorpius, she also loved hot showers. But they shared a look of hurt that the kiss had ended so quickly and she said, "Sorry."

"No. Don't apologize. It had to be done." Scorpius said. Rose nodded but gave him an apologetic look nevertheless. He returned the look, kissed her really quickly on her forehead and turned around, leaving while saying a quick "goodbye". Rose stood there grinning like an idiot for a few minutes. Despite the cold, she felt a warm glow inside her and a feeling on tingles on her forehead where he had kissed her. Then she sneezed and returned to the reality of the fact that she could very possibly be catching a cold. She jogged to the Gryffindor common room and up to the girls' dormitory. It was empty inside, thankfully. She went into the bathroom, stripped off her clothing and took a hot shower. She came out in a robe and changed into some of Lily's clothes she had 'borrowed' on her way upstairs, before going downstairs. Downstairs she came face to face with Lily, Albus, Fred and Alice. And a very embarrassed-looking Scorpius.

 **x**

 **Hi, sorry about the late update! It's just... tbh, I've been procrastinating xP But anyway here you go! I hope you like it! :D**


	12. The Overprotective Family

After getting over the initial shock of seeing a Slytherin in the Gryffindor common room (and not to mention, four seemingly angry Gryffindors to accompany him), Rose realised that Scorpius was still in his damp clothes. He hadn't even had a shower yet. She said, "Why is he wet?"

"Really? _That's_ the first question you ask?" Lily said, rolling her eyes.

"Also, we think you have a pretty good idea about why he's wet, Rose." Alice said. Rose then realised that Hugo wasn't there. But before she could ask, Lily said, "Hugo is at the library, finishing his Herbology essay." Rose nodded stiffly, wondering for the hundredth time if Lily had the ability to read minds.

"Okay. Why are all of you here?" Rose said, shifting from facial expression to facial expression. Their facial expressions weren't really different, though: All of them had disbelief written all over their faces. Fred was the first to speak, "Al said that he caught you and _Malfoy_ snogging." The way he said Scorpius's name made Rose feel a strong urge to hex him.

"Really? He said that did he?" Rose said, coolly. She eyed Albus, giving him a once over. She decided that she could take him if she had to. All of them must have noticed the coolness in her tone because they looked at her, slightly frowning. She said, "And does dear little Albus here have any proof? Or is it just his word?"

"Just his... word." Alice said, in response. But it sounded like an echo. Rose smiled and said, "Well then forgive me if I don't believe him. I tell you that we decide to call each other by first names and you jump to the conclusion that we were snogging?! Really, Al!"

"Well I did catch you kissing someone!" He protested.

"Yes, you did." Rose said, pretending to be thoughtful about it. But, in reality, she was trying her hardest not to blush.

"Well?!" Lily said after the silence was too much to handle.

"Well what? It's not going to work. That's all. Now, would you mind if a Slytherin used the Gryffindor showers?"

"Yes." They said in unison.

"What if that Slytherin was the Head Boy?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. They shared a quick look (something that Rose didn't miss) and then glanced at Scorpius. They seemed to come to a mutual understanding without words and Albus said, "Fine." Elongating the "i". Rose smiled a real smile and nodded at Scorpius. Surprisingly, Fred offered to escort Scorpius upstairs. But Scorpius declined the offer with an air of hostility. He started up the stairs but was quickly joined by Fred, who had received a very pointed look from Rose. He said, "Why did you follow, Weasley?"

"Because I received a very pointed look from your girlfriend." He said.

"She's not my girlfriend." Scorpius said through gritted teeth, trying to sound annoyed.

"What happened between both of you?"

"Can we not do the whole bonding thing?" Scorpius said, taking a turn into what he hoped was the seventh year dorm. It thankfully was. Fred gave him a flat look but dropped it. Scorpius went into the bathroom, peeled off his wet clothing and got into the shower. And that was probably the first time he had ever hated taking a shower. Because it gave him time to think and kick himself for being so stupid:

After kissing Rose- the memory made him smile goofily- he had started down the corridor to go to the Prefects' bathroom. But on his way, he had been ambushed by none other than Albus Severus Potter. And his trusty sidekick (not to mention, sister) Lily Luna Potter. The interrogation had begun almost immediately: "Why are you wet?" "Did I see you in the woods today?" "Have you seen Rose?" "Do you know where she went?" "Were you snog-" "Lil! Have you seen her at all today?" "Are you sure you haven't?" Needless to say, Scorpius barely had time to answer the questions and was mostly confined to "yes" or "no" when an opportunity for response presented itself. And when he did reply, there was a pause which was filled with some intense whispering between the siblings before the resumed their pointless interrogation. Finally Albus said, "It could have been him. It was blonde-ish." Just loud enough for Scorpius to hear.

"Well why didn't you say so before!" Lily said, not bothering to lower her volume.

"Well I didn't think it mattered!"

"Everything matters, you idiot!" Lily said, throwing her arms up to emphasize how much it mattered. Then she turned to Scorpius and said, "You are going to come with us. _Accio_ Scorpius's wand." And Scorpius's wand zoomed from his pocket and into Lily's outstretched hand. She smiled with triumph and said, "You are officially overpowered. If you try to escape, we will ki-"

"Lily!"

"-tie you up and take you with us." Lily finished hastily, glancing at her brother. Scorpius rolled his eyes but went with them because he didn't want to find our if Lily's words held any weight. When they reached the Fat Lady (the portrait behind which the Gryffindor common room was), Lily glanced at Scorpius and beckoned the Fat Lady to come closer. She obliged and Lily whispered the password into her ear. She nodded and swung aside, throwing Scorpius a dirty look which Scorpius quite readily responded with. They went into the common room and Scorpius was taken aback by how homely it was. Although the Slytherin common room was home to him, he knew that if he was a newcomer to the common room, he would have found it very formidable. With the green glow and the large, shadowy serpent on the wall, the Slytherin common room was anything but homely. The Gryffindor common room was different. Although it was foreign, it was accepting. The fire in the grate cast a warm golden glow on the well-worn sofas in front of it. The huge Gryffindor banner covering a part of the wall gave the room a sense of protection. And the scattered bean bags and tables made it seem like a combination of a living room and a study centre. Although Scorpius would never admit it, he actually liked the Gryffindor common room. But then he realised that he was face to face with one Weasley and the other girl "Alice" with whom Albus Potter had been snogging.

"Well this isn't a reunion I was planning to be a part of." Scorpius said, nervously.

"Shut up, Malfoy " Weasley said. Then he realised that all four Gryffindors were studying him intently. And, although he wouldn't care to show it in a million years, he felt a little insecure at the moment. Especially since he was wearing a white shirt which was on its way to becoming transparent. Finally Albus said, "I don't know, Lily. It may or may not have been him."

"But he's drenched and Rose-" that's when Rose appeared and they fell silent. Which was how Scorpius was now here, in the Gryffindor bathroom, having a shower. Something he had never expected to ever be doing. He was soon done and went out, got dressed and went back downstairs. They were all sitting in silence downstairs, on the couches. There was heavy tension in the air and Scorpius decided that the Gryffindor common room wasn't as homely as it had seemed. Rose saw him and stood up, instinctively, smiling at him with her eyes. Her face lit up noticeably even though she didn't smile. Then she gave the others a deadpan look and said, "We're going to go back. This isn't going to be an issue, is it?"

"No." They said in unison and Scorpius had to fight back a laugh. Rose nodded at them and then tilted her head towards the door, indicating to Scorpius. He nodded and they exited the common room. He said, "What did you tell them?"

"That we were just friends."

"With benefits."

"The more you say that, the more we're going to get closer to being just friends with no benefits." Rose said, curtly, making Scorpius shut up.

"So we're not 'just friends' then." He said, after a pause. Rose stopped and looked at him, frowning. She said, "No! Why? Do you want to be just friends?"

"Oh Merlin no!"

"You're coming off a bit desperate but that's okay." Rose said, smiling at him now. He looked at her, cocking his head to one side and she said, "What?! I find it cute, okay!"

"Okay, Rosie." He said, immediately feeling like an idiot after saying "Rosie". She laughed slightly and said, "You don't have to call me Rosie just because everyone else does, Scorpius."

"Thank you." He said, grinning at her. She couldn't resist it when he gave her that kind of goofy grin. She got onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his for a moment. He responded in that moment and then she broke it before it could deepen. She didn't want it to deepen. It was innocent and perfect this way. He looked slightly disappointed but he understood. She said, "You're so cute."

"I've been told." He said, smirking at her. She rolled her eyes but smiled nevertheless.

" _I knew it!_ " Sounded the familiar voice of a very familiar Lily Potter.


	13. Merlin's Most Baggy Y Fronts

***Unedited***

 _..."I knew it!" Sounded the familiar voice of a very familiar Lily Potter_

Scorpius and Rose froze the minute they heard Lily's voice. Both of them prayed that she was talking about knowing something else. Fat chance. Said the voice which resided at the back of both their heads. Rose wanted to be like an ostrich and stick her head into the ground so that she wouldn't have to face Lily.

 _So much for lying will work perfectly_. The voice said again and Rose told it to shut up. Lily approached them and said, "What the _hell_ is going on here?!"

"Um..." Scorpius trailed off, glancing at Rose, waiting for her. But Rose was still thinking about the advantages that ostriches had. Finally he said, "Well, I told Rose that I had a mouth ulcer so-"

"She snogged you to find out if you were telling the truth?" Lily said, giving him a flat look of plain disbelief.

"Well, to be honest, there was no tongue so-"

"By Merlin's Most Baggy Y Fronts! I don't want details, Malfoy!" Lily half-shouted, covering her ears immediately. This action snapped Rose out of her daydream and she said, "Lily calm down! Nothing's going on between us! It was just an accidental kiss! That's all!"

"Don't you lie to me, Rose Weasley!"

"I'm not lying! We've been doing on-and-off kisses a lot lately! It's all friendly! I swear!" Rose said, trying to create a guilt-free face. Lily searched her face through narrowed eyes. Rose sighed and said, "Seriously, Lil. We're just friends."

"With benefits." Scorpius murmured next to her so that only Rose heard. She bit back a smile but her eyes lit up with amusement. Thankfully, Lily didn't notice. Finally Lily said, "Fine. I believe you. But I'd rather not see you two snogging all over the place if you want to pretend that you're 'just friends'." Rose rolled her eyes and said, "We're not pretending. We are _just friends_."

"With- oof!" Rose elbowed him before he could finish. He threw her a dirty look but didn't say anything, knowing that he had deserved it. Lily nodded and then went forward and hugged Rose, whispering into her ear, "I wouldn't mind if you got together." Rose couldn't hold back the smile that was forming on her face. Lily pulled away, smiled at her and said, "Okay, I have to go back because Roxanne will _kill_ me for not working on my OWLs. She really needs to calm down. They're just exams! Am I rambling? I think I'm rambling. So I'm going to go now and leave you two to your...business." She struggled for the right word for a few seconds. Rose and Scorpius hid a smile each and nodded in understanding. She gave them both a bright smile and then turned around and left. They stood there staring at her retreating figure until Scorpius finally said, "Shall we?" And offered her his arm.

"We shall." Rose replied, taking the crook of his elbow and letting him lead the way to the common room.

Once inside, they sat down to finish their incomplete homework. Only, they couldn't concentrate. They kept trying to write but would keep sneaking glances at each other and often caught the other glancing. Finally Rose put down her quill and said, "This is a disaster."

"Tell me about it." Scorpius said, glad to put down his quill too. The only word he had written so far was 'The' to start the next sentence (which remained incomplete). Rose had written a single letter— 'A'— as the start of a sentence.

"So are we going to pretend to be 'just friends'?" Rose asked, after a pause.

"I don't see why we have to do that. I really don't understand."

"Because, Scorpius. It's us. It's a Weasley and a Malfoy. A Gryffindor and a Slytherin. Al would flip if he saw us and I shudder to think what James would do."

"What about your brother?"

"Hugo? Hugo hopefully won't tell my parents."

"We have to hide it from our _parents_?"

"Um..."

"Rose Weasley..." Scorpius tried in vain to sound threatening. But it did make Rose laugh. She said, "Calm down, Scorpius. It hasn't even been a day. _If_ we last—"

"Which we will." Scorpius interjected.

"— we'll tell them. We first need to see where this goes."

"Okay." Scorpius said dejectedly.

"You don't need to sound so upset about it. After all, wasn't it you who said that we were, and I quote, 'friends with benefits'?" She smiled teasingly and Scorpius mimed her speaking manner, rolling his eyes and opening his mouth wider than necessary. Rose laughed and said, "Well you did say it!"

"But I didn't mean it!"

"Of course you didn't." Rose said, still laughing. She got up from the floor and shifted to the sofa, lying down across it. Scorpius was sitting against it and even then he was tall enough to kiss her. He grinned and leaned in, about to kiss her when—

" _By Merlin's most baggy Y-fronts! Stop!_ "

"Don't you people ever _knock_?" Scorpius muttered under his breath when he heard Hugo's voice. Rose looked up, frozen. Hugo was staring at her, flabbergasted.

"Hey, Hugo. Long time no see. Would you like something? Water maybe? Or a knife to kill yourself?" Rose said and Scorpius couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not because of how sincere she sounded.

"What? How? What? When? _What_?" Hugo finally sputtered and Rose looked relieved that he still had the ability to speak. She got off the sofa and went to Hugo, obliging Scorpius to follow. He stood behind her and she told Hugo what she had told Lily: It was nothing serious. It was just on-and-off kissing. Scorpius didn't even interject with the "with benefits" part while she spoke. Hugo was who he considered to be Rose's family (since he was immediate family). Lily, according to Scorpius, was just...there.

 _Maybe you should be "just friends" the voice at the back of his head suggested._

With benefits?

 _No, no. Just friends. Literally. Without kissing or anything. It would make the whole thing a lot simpler. And it would mean fewer lies._

But the lying is worth it. I mean, it's Rose! How often do you meet a person as Rose as her!

 _I cannot believe you just turned her name into a adjective._

And I cannot believe that I'm basically talking to myself.

 _Hey, that's your fault. It's a push and pull._

Then shut up and go back to your corner. Scorpius said to it and then tuned back into Rose and Hugo's conversation. But what the voice said still haunted him... _"the whole thing a lot simpler."_ As much as he hated to admit it, the voice was right. It would be.

 _But the point is not about it being easy. It's about meeting speed breakers and driving over them no matter how much it damages your car. At the end of the day, it'll be worth it. Trust me._ The voice said, making Scorpius sigh with frustration.

You are so bipolar. He said to the voice and realised that Rose was saying bye to Hugo. Once Hugo had left, he turned to Rose and said, "What did you talk about?"

"Are you actually joking? You were _right_ there! How did you not hear anything!"

"Zoned out."

"Well I told him that we were just casual. Nothing serious. And that he shouldn't worry about anything since we won't be snogging again. It almost happened just that once." Rose explained and went and lay back down on the sofa. Scorpius sat on the carpet at her head, leaning against the sofa. He said, "Just casual huh?"

"Do you have a problem with being just casual?"

"No." Scorpius said in a very unconvincing tone. Rose propped her head up on one hand, her elbow digging into the cushion. She lay on her side and said, "You're upset. What's wrong?"

"Well I thought that we were more than... _casual_."

"Wasn't it you who wanted to be, and I quote, 'friends with benefits'?" Rose teased and Scorpius reddened slightly.

"Well..." he started but didn't say anything. Rose rolled her eyes and ruffled his hair, saying, "You're so cute."

"You know, if we were just casual, you wouldn't say that." He said, grinning.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Scorpius. Whatever helps you sleep at night." She said, laughing and jumping off the couch, going to the staircase leading to her room. Scorpius looked at her and said, "Leaving so soon?"

"You're welcome to join me, if you like." She said, grinning.

"I'll take you up on that offer." He said, following her and reaching her in a few long strides. Immediately Rose put a hand on his chest and pushed him back, saying, "No. Scorpius I'm sorry but we haven't even gone out yet. All we've done is kiss. I'm not letting you into my room. Much less my bed. I'm sorry." She added the apology in a softer tone. And by the look on his face, she knew he had understood and, possibly, agreed with her. They weren't going to go there. They definitely weren't ready. Scorpius nodded and said, "I know."

"Good night then?" Although it was meant to be a statement, it came out as a question. Scorpius gently pressed his lips against hers and they kissed for a few moments before she broke the kiss and said, "By Merlin's most baggy Y-fronts, Scorpius. That was _amazing_."

"Merlin's most baggy Y-fronts. Is that our thing now?"

"Only if you want it to be."

"It sounds like the best couple thing ever."

"Well it's our thing now. And we're a _couple_?"

"We'll find out, won't we? After the first date?"

"After the first date." Rose agreed and they said goodnight again before going to their respective bedrooms.


	14. First Date

"Tonight's the night." Scorpius said, dropping a kiss on Rose's head as he passed by to the opposite side of the common room downstairs, to get his bag. Rose smiled and said, "Tonight it is." Although, internally, she was dreading tonight with every fibre of her being. She was really scared that something would go wrong and that it wouldn't live up to her expectations. But, more than anything, she was terrified of being in a relationship. Scorpius, on the contrary, was immensely confident about the night. He believed that nothing could go wrong since he had looked into everything. The house elves were to bring them food and put it out before they arrived so that Rose wouldn't protest (she got her elf protection genes from her mother) and it was going to be romantic, beside a river which was going to look old and fairytale-like. He couldn't remember the last time he was looking forward to something so much.

They went about their classes as usual that day, exchanging subtle glances. And when the word subtle is used, it means very _obvious_ glances. None which went unnoticed by Albus. Who, of course, reported to Lily, who finally came to the conclusion that they were, in fact, together. But she decided not to tell Rose that she had figured something out because she wasn't sure if it was true or if Al was seeing things. Knowing Al, it was probably the latter. So she chose not to act on her "discovery".

During lunch, Rose and Scorpius snuck off to the Astronomy Tower and sat there, looking out at the Forbidden Forest, just talking and laughing. Head Girl and Boy duties didn't seem as important as they were and even Rose managed to brush away the nagging feeling to go and attend to duties. Finally lunch was over and they had to go back to their classes. Before leaving, Scorpius put an arm around her waist and pulled her close and said, "Tonight is going to be amazing."

"That's what she said." Rose said, unable to contain herself. Scorpius looked at her, puzzled and curious. She shook her head, telling him that it was a muggle joke and that he shouldn't bother himself with it. He narrowed his eyes at her but nodded and let it go. Then they parted ways, going back to their previous routine of sneaking not-so-subtle glances at each other.

Finally classes were done and Rose went straight upstairs to see what she had to wear. Throwing open her cupboard revealed that she had...nothing.

" _Nothing?!"_ Lily exclaimed minutes later when Rose had gone seeking help in the Gryffindor girlfamilmitory. She had only told Lily that she was going on a date (with whom she hadn't said) and she needed something to wear.

"Shout louder, I don't think Al heard you in the boys dormitory!" Rose hissed, angrily. Lily rolled her eyes and said, "Seriously, though. How can you have _nothing_ to wear! You belong to one of the most famous Wizarding families ever!"

"Says the daughter of The Chosen One." The children often teased Harry by calling him The Chosen One, The Boy Who Lived and other such embarrassing titles he had acquired while he was busy battling the most evil wizard of all time.

"Shut up. He's your uncle."

"But he's still your father." Rose sang off-key and Lily glared at her. She smiled guiltily, pushing Lily's wand away so that she wouldn't reach for it and start using Rose as OWL practical practice.

"Anyway," Lily said, glowering, "we need to find you something to wear. Since I'm assuming it's Scorpius Malfoy, I think you should go for something black. Black always looks good and sexy. But not too black. Because that'll look like you're attending a funeral." She was talking so fast that it took Rose a few moments to realise what she had said about Scorpius. She quickly said, "Um what?!"

"Well, Rose, I don't know if you know this but people wear black to-"

"No! About Scorpius! We're not dating!"

"Oh?" Lily said in a mock questioning voice but didn't pause her rummaging.

"It really isn't!" Rose didn't know why she wasn't just telling Lily. She just felt the need to keep denying it.

"Sure, okay."

"Don't say that!"

"Then it is?"

"No it isn't! But don't say okay in disbelief!"

"Then who is it?"

"Michael." Rose said, thinking on the spot and mentally patting herself on the back for coming up with a real name.

"Last name?"

"McDreamy?"

"Nice try. Rose, it's okay if it's Scorpius. I won't tell a soul and I'll be totally fine with it. I promise. You can trust me. And I really thought you already did. Also, I kind of know it's Scorpius."

"What?! How do you know?"

"So it is true then?"

"Yes, yes it is." Rose finally admitted with a sigh. Lily's eyes widened and she said, "Ohmygod! Really? Scorpius Malfoy?!"

"I thought you knew!"

"Well yeah! But I didn't believe it until you admitted to it! I thought Al was seeing things!"

"Al knows?!"

"Shit. No. He _thinks_ he knows something. I'll work on him. Now tell me all about it." She sat down on the bed, her eyes widening, waiting for Rose to tell.

"I really would but I kind of have a date to catch." Rose said, rolling her eyes. Lily's eyes widened and said, "Right! You're anti-fashion! I forgot! One sec." She rummaged through her trunk and resurfaced with a deep purple halter neck, satin dress with a single stitch separating the top half from the bottom half. Simple and elegant. Rose beamed when she saw it and said, "I thought you said black."

"Well, purple is the new black." Lily said and grinned. Rose ended up going back to her room with Lily and Lily got her ready.

Scorpius had told Charles the same and had shown his outfit that he had planned to wear to Charles. Like Rose, he hadn't told Charles who he was going on a date. But unlike Lily, Charles wasn't very nosy and figured that this girl was just a fling that Scorpius would use to get over Rose. He didn't know that it was, in fact, Rose. That didn't stop him from heavily criticising the suit and the tie. Especially the tie.

"What is _wrong_ with you? Do you _want_ to go on a date looking like Hooligan the Ass?"

"It's nice to see that my sense of fashion pleases you." Scorpius responded, sarcastically. Charles pretended not to hear that and said, "No no no! This is all wrong! You're taking this girl to dinner and you want to dress in a suit with a a striped tie?! What is seriously wrong with you." It was more of a statement than a question.

"What should I wear?!"

"How about, instead of wearing a _grey-black_ tie, you go with _black_? You know, like a normal person? There's a reason it's called a "black tie event", Scor."

"Right. But there's the slight problem of me not _having_ a black tie." Scorpius said.

"That's easy to fix. _Accio Charles Zabini's black tie!_ " Charles called out and, within a minute, a black tie came soaring in through the open window. Charles caught it and put it around Scorpius' neck, tightening it a little too much. He loosened it, glaring at Charles.

"She wouldn't mind if I showed up without a tie, you know."

"And who is this 'she'?" Charles asked, looking at Scorpius curiously.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Scorpius teased and Charles rolled his eyes. He sat down on the bed and, curiosity getting the better of him, said, "Fine. Then I'm going to wait here until _she_ shows up."

"What?! Why do you suddenly want to know who it is?!"

"Because I have an inkling that it's a certain female Weasley who has agreed to go on one date with you but will probably Lemon Law you."

"Lemon Law me?"

"It's a thing. Don't ask."

"Charles, how obsessed are you with that televenus show?"

"It's tele _vision_ Scorpius. And pretty damn obsessed. But that's beside the point. Am I right?"

"No, no you aren't." Scorpius said, not meeting Charles' eyes.

"Oh?" He said in a tone of disbelief.

"It really isn't!"

"Sure okay."

"Stop not believing me!"

"I can't help it! Your denial just makes me further believe it." Charles said, using elaborate hand gestures to further his point. Scorpius sighed, knowing he had to admit to it. So he said, "Okay fine. It is." And, as if on cue, Charles Zabini's mouth fell open. He said, "Rose?!"

"No. Lily Potter. Yes, obviously Rose."

"Merlin's beard!"

"Wait, I thought you knew!"

"I didn't actually believe myself until you said so!" Charles exclaimed and Scorpius rolled his eyes and said, "I think I hear her coming down. So I'm going to go down. Do you think you'll be okay? Won't get a stroke and die?"

"No no. I'll be fine. Just need a little time."

"Pity. Okay then Charles, you can stay up here as long as you want. Just don't go through my stuff. And don't tell anyone. We're trying to keep it a secret right now." Charles snorted at how easily Scorpius had told him. Scorpius glared at him and continued, "So I'm trusting you with this."

"Yes, sir!" Charles said, mock saluting Scorpius and then going back to his previous state of disbelief and, Scorpius sensed, denial. He said, "Just don't tell my parents, okay?"

"I'll probably choke on my saliva if I try."

"Now there's an image I _don't_ need before dinner."

"Right. Sorry. Now go on your date! My boy's all grown up!" Charles said, grinning and hitting Scorpius' chest. Scorpius didn't flinch but gave Charles a look of disbelief. He shrugged and said, "Now go go go!"

"Going! Don't mess up in here!"

"I won't. Go!" Charles said, pushing him towards the door. He laughed and was about to open the door when something heavy hit him from behind. It took him a moment to realise that Charles had tackled him in a hug from behind. He smiled and patted Charles' arm and Charles muttered, "Go get her, Scorpius." Scorpius didn't want to ruin the moment by pointing out that he already _had_ her so he just nodded and Charles let go, beaming at him. Scorpius muttered a bye and left.

Downstairs, Scorpius saw Rose sitting on the sofa, her hair curled at the ends, in a deep purple dress that looked beautiful. He said, "Merlin's Most Baggy Y-Fronts, Rose! You look amazing." Rose snapped her head in his direction and gave him a huge smile. She said, "You don't look too bad yourself. You clean up well."

"That's it? I said you look amazing and I get 'clean up well'?" Scorpius said in a mock offended tone.

"I'm sorry. Scorpius Malfoy, you look so amazing tonight that the stars themselves shy away from your beauty even when they're against a clear night sky, making the sky look like heaven." Rose said, pretending to recite a line from a romantic play, therefore using hand gestures and making Scorpius laugh.

"How very poetic of you." Scorpius said.

"I know." Rose said, grinning at him. Scorpius laughed and leaned in to kiss her but she pulled away, shaking her head. She said, "We'll see if I still want to kiss you at the end of tonight. You never know, I may have to Lemon Law you."

"That again. What _is_ the Lemon Law?"

"Where have you heard it before?" Rose said, curiously.

"Charles said it. He was talking about some television show and it came up."

"Oh. Well never mind. It's a muggle thing. Not something you pure-bloods should worry yourselves with."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Ugh, Scorpius. Learn to take a joke! Shall we go?"

"We shall." Scorpius said, offering his arm. She took the crook of his elbow, her purse in her other arm. He led her out of the common room (getting a comment on how lovely they looked from Dumbledore on the way out) and to the Room of Requirement. Once they reached the Room of Requirement, since Rose didn't know where the date was supposed to be, Scorpius paced before the empty wall, imagining every feature of the place. The third time he paced, the door appeared. He pushed it open and motioned for Rose to enter. She did and sucked in a sharp breath when she saw the place. The beauty of it left her breathless for a few seconds. She spotted the empty table for two beside the river. She had the urge to just paint the entire place. But she held herself back and said, "Scorpius, it's beautiful."

"It's for you." He said, smiling at how she was taking everything in.

"You are such a romantic." Rose said, smiling at him teasingly.

"I'm going to take that as a compliment." He said, making her laugh more.

"You should." She said and Scorpius smiled, taking her to the table. Rose only then realised that she was famished. All the getting ready for a date had tired her out. Maybe that was the point of getting ready. So that you'd be hungry enough to eat anything. And Rose didn't shy away from food. Once they sat down, she piled her plate with food. Scorpius gave her a look and she said, "What?! I'm starving! Have _you_ ever been a girl who needs to do all this crazy crap to get ready for a date?"

"Um... no."

"So don't judge me then." She said, rolling her eyes. He nodded, piling his own plate with food. He figured that since they were piling, he may as well do the same. They began eating and began a conversation but it soon died out and they only concentrated on the food, making occasional comments about how good the food was. Once they were done, they were sipping on butterbeer and just enjoying the comfortable silence they had fallen into. Finally Rose said, "Let's go onto the bridge."

"Why the bridge?"

"Because it's a wooden bridge and I haven't seen one of those in a while. And I think it's really gorgeous." She said, in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Alright then." Scorpius said and their glasses and plates were left abandoned as they moved to the bridge, standing there and looking out at the river. They stood close together, their arms brushing together as they sat with their elbows resting on the railing of the bridge. They just stayed there in a comfortable silence, looking out at the river. Finally Scorpius broke the silence saying, "So, how secret is this exactly?"

"What do you mean? Did you tell someone about us?" Rose pretended to be accusatory but an underlying tone of longing was present. She really hoped he had told someone about them.

"No." Scorpius said, a little too hastily. Rose knew he had told someone. So she said, "It's okay if you have. As long as the person can be trusted." She didn't look at him while she said this.

"Okay fine. I sort of told Charles."

"Oh thank Merlin! I told Lily." Rose gushed and Scorpius raised an eyebrow at her. She said, "What? Now we're even."

"Even? You know you can't consider being 'even' in a relationship."

"We're in a _relationship_?"

"Aren't we?"

"Are we?"

"Do you want to be?" Scorpius asked and Rose hesitated. He noticed and said, "Rose... do you?" Rose thought about it and immediately the voice kicked in:

 _Do you?_

I don't know. Do I?

 _You know, Rose. This **is** Scorpius Malfoy. This is probably a once in a lifetime opportunity. Plus, you need to experiment. You can't be scared forever. You'll never end up getting married if you're this scared!_

MARRIED?!

 _Oh god. You're so stupid. Stop freaking out. Scorpius Malfoy could be the best or the worst thing that happens to you and you need to put yourself out there! Lily supports it. You're fine. Just go for it. The longer you hesitate, the worse he'll feel._

Right.

 _Or, on second thought-_

Shut up. You convinced me. Go back to being nothing. Rose told the voice and shut it up. She turned to Scorpius who looked really crestfallen at her longer-than-necessary hesitation. She gave him a big smile, took his hand and said, "Yes." Scorpius looked up at her, searched her face for a second and then nodded, beaming. Then, out of nowhere, music began to play. It was a slow song by the Weird Sisters Revamped who were the descendants of the Weird Sisters. Personally, both Rose and Scorpius liked the original band more. But this song fit the romantic atmosphere perfectly. Scorpius held out a hand and said, "May I have this dance?"

"Of course." Rose said, without a moment's hesitation took his hand. He led her away from the railing and she put her arms around his neck and he put his around her waist and they swayed gently to the music in silence, just looking at each other. Not staring, but looking. The night never seemed to end. And neither wanted it to either.

 **x**

 **For those of you who are confused, the Lemon Law is an idea from the sitcom, How I Met Your Mother. It basically states that, under the Lemon Law, a person may call off a date within the first five minutes without any repercussions.**

 **Thanks for reading :)**


	15. A Little Too Much Butterbeer

It had been nearly a week since their date and they were growing more and more careless about their relationship. People caught them kissing all over Hogwarts and they were seen walking together a lot. Holding hands, kissing, walking together, they had been caught doing everything. However, this was the first week in which everything seemed like butterflies and daffodils so Scorpius and Rose stayed in a world of their own. They didn't know that their relationship had already gone public and so they were still deciding when to make their relationship public. The ideal opportunity presented itself when Lily's birthday came up and she was handing out invitations for everyone to come to the Gryffindor common room. She had even convinced the Fat Lady to change the password for a night and the password was on the invitation cards in the form of a riddle so, depending on how much the witch or wizard wanted to show up, that's how hard they would work to solve the riddle. But the Gryffindors were obviously already told the password and they tipped off most of their other-house friends. And Rose tipped Scorpius off on the password.

It started off normal, with Rose talking about Lily's party, giving Scorpius the password 'accidentally', telling him that she still needed to decide what to wear etc. and then it turned into a question where Rose said, "So, do you want to come?"

"To a party in a _Gryffindor_ common room? You mean the place where I am the least welcome?" He scoffed, earning a frown from Rose.

"Well, it'll be fun and I'm sure Lily wouldn't mind you being there." Rose said and as if on cue Lily came bursting in through the door with an invitation in hand. She held it out to Scorpius who looked surprised but took it. He read the inside:

 _You are cordially invited to my epic birthday party tomorrow (the card will start singing when it's the right day depending on when you get the card) and I sincerely hope you can make it._

 _Yours most truly,_  
 _Lily Potter_

 _P. S. Girls wear dresses or (if you really want to) skirts and guys wear shirts or (if you really want to) tuxes._

"Wow Potter. This is really...formal." Scorpius commented.

"I'm taking that as a compliment, Malfoy. So I expect I'll see you two there tomorrow?"

"Yeah." Rose said, nodding and smiling at her. Lily nodded and said, "Great! Wear something pretty! See you tomorrow! Al has been on my case to do Transfiguration even since yesterday. So I'm going to do a chapter before bed."

"Typical Al. Okay bye, Lily."

"Bye Potter."

"Bye Rose. Malfoy. Ha! Rose Malfoy. That sounded weird. Okay bye!" She said and exited, leaving Rose and Scorpius just staring at the door, a very vivid blush on both if their cheeks.

 **~Tomorrow~**

Rose was in a red sleeveless dress with lace straps and Scorpius was in a shirt and trousers. Rose grinned when she saw him and said, "Well doesn't someone look gorgeous?"

"I hope we're both talking about you." Scorpius said, encircling her waist with his arms and pulling her closer to him. Before Rose could say anything, he kissed her. She kissed him back and once they broke the kiss, she was practically shining. But then the shine dimmed and she said, "Are we going together?"

"What do you mean?"

"Together. As a _couple_." She said, forcing out the word "couple". She still wasn't used to the title.

"Do you _want_ to go as a couple?" Scorpius asked. Say no. Say no. Rose I command you to say no. The voice at the back of his head said. And so, when Rose hesitated, although Scorpius tried to look upset, he didn't succeed.

"I think we should put it off for a bit." Rose said, after deciding. She wasn't ready to be open about them. It was so nice and private. And she had a feeling that the only reason it was so private was because no one knew (or so she thought).

"Yeah I agree." Scorpius said a little too hastily: making Rose laugh. She said, "Shall we then?"

"We shall." He said and held the door open. Rose exited and made her way to the Gryffindor common room. Al was standing at the entrance...snogging Alice. So Rose walked past him, Scorpius right behind her. She said the password and The Fat Lady swung aside to permit them. They entered and realized that the party was already in full swing. A house elf came towards them holding a tray of butterbeer shots. It was obviously spiked. Rose took a sip and her mouth tasted bittersweet. But then she downed it in one go and didn't look back. Somewhere in the flow of the party, they lost each other and Scorpius found himself sitting on a sofa next to a Gryffindor couple snogging and clearly trying to undress each other. He said, "You know, there's a room right upstairs. Please take your business there. Please." The couple broke apart just long enough to look at him with a disgusted look (which Scorpius found really ironic) and then went back to snogging and attempting to undress each other.

A cooler was passed around and he took a butterbeer right when he heard a loud whoop coming from the centre of the crowd. He looked and his eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when he saw that Rose, Lily and… Fred? Were all dancing atop a table, each with their own bottle of butterbeer (which Fred eventually smashed on his head, causing him to, not only pass out, but also take a trip to Madam Pomfrey). He figured that he was probably the only sober person at the party since Rose was apparently already too drunk to function. Rose took another swig from the bottle and, apparently, emptied it. She swung it above her head and threw it flying in the direction of the couple next to Scorpius. The bottle fell just before the sofa, shattering. There was a loud cheer in the crowd and Scorpius pointed a wand at the shattered bottle and muttered, " _Reparo_." The bottle repaired itself and he picked it up, carefully putting it away. The shattering of the bottle seemed to be the highlight so the party calmed down, the trio got off the table (Fred smashed the bottle on his head and passed out; Roxanne had to take Fred to Madam Pomfrey) and Rose and Lily fell onto the sofa beside Scorpius after shooing off the couple and forcing them to go upstairs. Rose grinned at Scorpius and said, "I'm drunk."

"I know. Maybe we should get you back to the dorm?" Scorpius said because, to be honest, he was getting quite bored. He didn't get drunk very easily and so he was actually not able to have fun (he had already found out that drinking made parties more and more fun).

"What?! No! You can't do this to me, Malfoy! Rose is so much fun when she's drunk! She's like an innocent little baby with a dirty mind. And she is _so honest about everything_."

"You're sober?!" Scorpius asked Lily, his eyes widening.

"Well of course I am! But Rose isn't. Hey Rose, do you want to play Truth or Dare?"

"No. That's a stupid game. You're given the stupidest dares. Like everyone will want me to have seven minutes in heaven with Scorpius or something. Not that I would mind." Rose said, a playful glint coming into her eyes as she looked at Scorpius. He said, "How about no?"

"I'm going to dance. Will you be okay?" Rose said, looking at Scorpius and not listening to anything he had said.

"Will you?"

"Good. Don't make out with Lily or I will hex your sorry arse into oblivion!" She called as she went into the crowd to dance. Scorpius just stared after her. Lily noticed the way he was staring and said, "You really like her, don't you?"

"Yeah. I do. She's really amazing."

"She is. Which is why, Malfoy, if you do _anything_ to hurt her, I _will_ kill you. And I'm not joking."

"I know. But I won't do anything to hurt her. And if I do, I clearly am not worth even a millionth of her."

"I have never heard anything so romantic ever. Why can't Lorcan be like you? Where is Lorcan anyway? I need to find him. I think a slow song is going to come up. Where is the music playing from? Ugh, whatever." And she was right, a slow song did come up. She disappeared into the crowd, looking for Lorcan. Scorpius realized that there were couples all over the floor, dancing. He figured that he could have this dance with Rose and then they could leave (if she wanted to). So he went into the crowd looking for her. And he found her… dancing… with another Gryffindor. The boy looked ecstatic to be dancing with her but Scorpius had a feeling that Rose couldn't actually process who she was dancing with. He started walking towards her when the Gryffindor boy bent his head and whispered something into her ear. Immediately Rose pulled away and she shook her head, holding her arms out so that he was at arms length. He said something back at her and she pulled out her wand and pointed it at him. Scorpius swooped in immediately (since Rose was probably capable of murder with that amount of alcohol in her system) and said, "Do we have a problem here?"

"Who invited _you_ to this party, _Malfoy_?" The boy spat out, glaring at Scorpius.

"That would be me, the birthday girl. Although, I don't remember inviting _you_ , Harvey." Lily's voice came from behind them. And her words might as well have been acid in the verbal form. Harvey shifted on his feet, suddenly looking uncomfortable. Scorpius supposed that that's the effect you had on people if you were somehow related to Harry Potter. Especially if you were Female Potter Junior. He said, very intelligently, "Um…" and Lily rolled her eyes at him and said, "Get out."

"But I'm a Gryffindor and this is my common room! Too!" He added after a pause, seeing the look in Lily's eyes. She glared at him and said, "Not tonight. Get the hell out of the common room. Go bunk with someone else in _their_ common room. And if I see you here again, I'm not afraid of using one of the Unforgivable Curses on you." She said it so threateningly that Harvey visibly gulped and then just turned around and left (nearly running into one of the couples). Rose turned around and said, "Merlin's freaking long beard, Lily! That was amazing! You were amazing! You're so amazing! I admire you so much! I know I make fun of you but I really do love you. I swear I do. And I-"

"That's sweet, Rose, but you should probably get back to Scorpius." Lily said, pointing at Scorpius. Rose acknowledged his presence and said, "Yeah okay."

"Okay? Okay." Lily said and nodded at Scorpius who took Rose. He said, "Do you want to dance?"

"Mmhmm." Rose nodded, flashing him a grin and encircling his neck with her arms. Scorpius took her waist and they swayed along with the music in silence until Scorpius said, "What _did_ Harvey say to you?"

"He asked me if I wanted to take our party upstairs." Rose said, frowning. Scorpius took a deep breath to calm himself down and said, "And what did you say?"

"I told him to back the hell off. I told him that I was in a relationship and that I had a boyfriend and that we were both really close and that my boyfriend could kick his sorry arse, magically or otherwise, any day of the week. At which point he started telling me that he was pretty strong and he hated the fact that I was choosing my boyfriend over him and that he wasn't looking for anything serious anyway. So I took out my wand to shut him up and that's when you and Lily came and Lily made him soil his pants on both ends." Scorpius gave a slight chuckle.

"Boyfriend huh?" He said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well aren't you? I mean we did kiss a lot and since, according to you, we're in a relationship, you are my boyfriend, aren't you? I think you are. Because if you aren't looking for anything serious then you're looking in the wrong department. Hell, you're looking in the-"

"I am." He said, partly to tell himself and partly to shut her up. _Oh my god, you're her boyfriend._

Shut up, it's not that big a deal.

 _You're her **boyfriend** , Scorpius. _

Yes I am, so?

 _Do you **want** to be her boyfriend? It's so **official**. _

Scorpius looked at Rose, smiled at her clueless expression and whispered to the voice: Yes, I do.


End file.
